


To Fall

by Emarye



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Annoying Dog is Harry's buddy, Attempt at Humor, BAMF Hermione Granger, Bad Flirting, Bad Jokes, Bad Puns, Bullshit science and logic, Cheesy, Child Death, Child Frisk, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Depressed Sans, Domestic Fluff, Epic Friendship, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Existential Crisis, Flirty Sans, Fluff, Frisk Uses Sign Language, Frisk is a Sweetheart, Genderless Chara, Genderless Frisk, Goat Mom Is Best Mom, Harry Needs a Hug, Harry Potter is a Little Shit, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Male Slash, Mentions of Sans' death, Minor Violence, Mother Hen Harry Potter, Mute Frisk, Non-Evil Chara, Not Beta Read, Not brit-picked btw, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pacifist Harry, Panic Attacks, Papyrus Knows More Than He Lets On, Papyrus Needs A Hug, Pet Names, Poor Everyone, Poor Harry, Poor Sans, Post-Genocide Route, Sans Being Sans, Sans Needs A Hug, Sans Remembers Resets, Sans is a Little Shit, Self-Harm, Skelekisses make the world go 'round, Spoilers - Pacifist Route, Swearing, Tags May Change, Temporary Character Death, Triggers, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Violence, Work In Progress, awkward best friend hugs, harry stop being a little shit and egging them on, hermione needs a hug too, hermione stop antagonizing sans, just give them all hugs, just in case, occasional shattering of fourth wall, protect the tol innocent skelly, sans stop antagonizing hermione, sans you poor baby i'm so sorry, we will be going there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-05-25 10:54:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6192226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emarye/pseuds/Emarye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter is climbing Mt. Ebott on his vacation when, of course, he manages to fall into the Underground. Cue madness and Harry being Fate's favorite chewtoy. Also, that skeleton is surprisingly cute... even if he's a bit of an arse sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

It was peaceful, up on the mountain.

 

Sure, y'know, there's myths that whoever ends up climbing it never returns and all, but, they're truly missing out on quite a sight.

 

Harry laughed at the thought, swinging his legs off the cliff. It was an appealing thought, truly. Seeing something nobody else has, like it's special and all yours to keep... He sat for a while, just watching the horizon and communing with nature, and all that jazz.

 

Finally, Harry startled as his phone (nifty thing, Hermione picked it up for him and so far it's pretty neat) started to _ring-ring-ring_. Almost lazily, he clicked the phone open and blinked as Hermione instantly started ranting.

 

_"I've been worried SICK, Harry James Potter! I told you to call me every couple of hours and it has been A DAY since I heard from you! A DAY! I told you about the legends and I told you I thought something was going on so I thought you'd been hurt or you'd bloody well DIED!"_

 

Harry winced and held the phone away from his ear, scrunching up his face. Here we go, Momma 'Mione is at it again. Not that Harry minded much, really. He'd become quite mellow and carefree towards these kinds of things over the years. Well... not quite 'carefree', more 'numb'. At least, Hermione says so.

 

_"-arry! Are you actually listening?"_ Hermione demanded, and Harry grinned. "Of course 'Mione, hanging onto your every word as usual, mother dearest." There was a laugh from the other end. _"I can't believe you actually didn't call me, though. The mountain is quite dangerous, I mean, what with the wildlife and the mountain itself..."_

 

Harry snickered, fondly shaking his head before getting up and stretched. He sighed in satisfaction at the loud pops his bones made, rolling his shoulders idly while Hermione droned on about how the mountain is dangerous and he really should head back home. Truly, sometimes Harry wondered how she could keep such large amounts of air in her lungs to speak so rapidly. It was admirable, that.

 

Finally, after a few more minutes of Hermione babbling on about safety hazards, she stopped. Well, Harry butted in and cut her off. "Alright Hermione, I understand but I'm a big boy! I've even defeated a dark lord, I'm sure this'll be easier than breathing. Tell Teddy I'll see him when I get back home, alright?"

 

_"Oh all right, I suppose you'll be fine for a few more hours... even if I think you can find trouble in an empty room with no doors or windows. Call me before you head to bed so I know you're okay, Harry. Don't forget!"_ Click.

 

Harry smiled, stowing away his phone and walking on absentmindedly. He watched the wildlife as he walked through the brush, smiling indulgently as he saw a young bird fly overhead, followed by two larger birds.

 

He stopped abruptly as the hairs on the back of his neck went up, his ankle dipping into a large hole in the ground. He swayed unsteadily, on the brink of falling if he made one wrong move. Thankfully, he managed to regain his balance and stayed safely above the hole. At least, until he noticed the runes that were barely visible on the rock surfaces.

 

When he crouched to get a good look at them, squinting even with his new glasses...

 

Harry yelped as the ground underneath him gave way and he went tumbling down, down, down, into the gaping hole.


	2. Like Alice In Wonderland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's fallen into the Underground and meets our 'friendly' resident flower and Goat Mom. He has a tiny existential crises too because: video game. Poor baby.

Harry groaned as he woke up, a hand coming up to shield his face from the bright sunlight bearing down on him.

Wait... he was lying on something that was definitely not his bed. And he used curtains and he was supposed to be hiking a mountain currently...

_Aw, shit._

He fell into a hole. A giant, obvious hole in the earth. One that had mysterious runes around it. Which, if his quick glimpse serves right, were wards to keep things in. _Double shit._

Harry winced as he slowly opened his eyes, rolling on his side to avoid being blinded by the sun and sneezing as his nose was tickled with the smell of buttercups. He hissed in pain as he slowly lifted himself up off the patch of buttercups, blinking confusedly at the yellow flowers.

Well, yellow splotches. His glasses must have fallen off, of course. Luckily, his wand was still in its holster. Although, if it did fall out, he could just recall it. But, not so luckily, his phone was in bits and pieces next to him. It must have broken with the fall, and with technology and magic not getting along he clearly wasn't going to be able to fix it. Damn. Hermione would kill him for breaking his eighteenth phone.

Sighing, Harry picked up his wand and lazily spoke the incantation to summon his glasses, blinking as his glasses came flying into his free hand. They were slightly crushed and dirty, of course. Harry rolled his eyes and spelled them clean and new, jamming them onto his nose and peering around his surroundings.

It was a cave, that much was obvious. Up ahead, there appeared to be a path forward. Harry shrugged and stood up, wincing as various body parts practically screamed in protest. Too bad he actually didn't focus much on healing spells, even with his occasional work with the Aurors.

Harry slowly walked forward, his wand out in front of him and quickly scanning every few feet for danger. Idly, in the back of his mind, he knew Hermione was going to kill him when he got out of here. She did warn him about this sort of thing, really.

Harry blinked as he spotted the grinning golden flower in the ground ahead of him. The flower seemed to perk up when it spotted him, and Harry blinked as the flower promptly started talking.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" It- he? said cheerfully, high voice grating on Harry's eardrums. Seriously, Harry thought he'd never hear a more annoying voice in the remainder of his life.

"Ok-ay... talking flowers... I can deal with that." Harry mumbled, eyeing the flower warily and running a hand through his hair. He felt like Alice, the one that fell into the rabbit hole and went on this mad adventure. And almost had her head chopped off, he remembered that quite well. He hoped that wouldn't be the case in this story. He wouldn't hold out hope, though. He's come close to having his head cut off many a time, it's never fun.

... _Okay,_ well, there was that time Teddy wanted to play kings and made a beheading thing and forced Harry to try it out. Luckily, it was all paper and glue so it didn't really hurt. It was worth making Teddy smile.

"What? You've never seen a flower talk before?" The flower- Flowey, he internally reminded himself, asked with an even wider grin. How the flower was managing to smile, Harry had no idea. Hermione would be fascinated, though. So would Neville, and perhaps Luna, come to think of it. Hermione for the science, Neville for the whole plant thing, and Luna because it's a bloody talking flower.

Harry shook his head, raising his eyebrows. "Nope. I've seen ones that attack you, and some that even are sentient, but none actually spoke a word. So, um, hi there. I'm Harry."

"Well, that's a nice name I suppose, Harry! But you're new to the Underground, aren'tcha? Well, I suppose it's up to little old me to show you the ropes!"

Harry thought that sounded faintly ominious.

He was right.

Harry let out a pained noise when the RPG fighting format appeared, including his bright red pixel heart.

" _Oh triple shit_. I'm in a bloody video game. I'm in a video game. _Why am I in a video game?!?_ " He groaned, feverishly pinching himself and staring at the layout with wide eyes. Crap. This is bad. Wait; is he just in a video game or was he always...? No, no, he can't get all existional crises. He can do that later. Currently, he has bigger issues... like the fact that he is in a video game.

Flowey seemed confused. "Huh? Whatcha mean, a video game?"

"I'm not supposed to be in a bloody _video game_! I've fought enough baddies, I'm good, even if they've got talking flowers! Why do all the bad things happen to me?" Harry rambled to the flower, running a hand through his hair with a groan. Only he would manage to fall into a video game while on vacation, truly. Hermione was going to have his head.

Flowey laughed a bit, and Harry glared at the grinning flower. "Aw, you must be so confused."

"No shit." Harry deadpanned. It was like the flower was being patronizing on purpose... which Harry thought Flowey was.

Flowey merely grinned wider and continued on. "Well, down here, we share _LOVE_ through little white friendliness pellets! Like these! Move around, get as many as you can!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the white dots that appeared, protectively moving his heart away. The pellets reminded him a bit of bullets. "Um, can I pass on that? I really, really, don't want any love, thanks."

"No, no, it's rude. You _HAVE_ to."

"Fine..." Harry said reluctantly, allowing a pellet to hit the heart before startling at the welt that suddenly appeared on his arm. He gnashed his teeth together, dragging his poor heart away from the rest and practically bristling angrily. "Sure, 'friendliness pellets.' I'm pretty bad at games, but something that hurts is bad and to be avoided. Thanks, now I know and I can leave-"

Flowey laughed, cutting him off. "You're smart! Smarter than Frisk was, even! I almost regret having to kill you. Idiot. In this world, it's kill or be killed!"

Harry winced as a ring of bullets surrounded his heart. This was going terribly, and he couldn't even use his magic until it was 'his turn'. "Fantastic. Right, if an enraged brownhaired witch comes down here and finds out you killed me I'm afraid you're quite screwed, mate. And not in the fun way, either."

The flower looked briefly confused before a ball of pixel fire whammed into him with an entertaining squeaky noise.

Harry rubbed his eyes as a giant humanoid goat woman appeared. _'Geez, she's even taller than Hagrid...!'_

"Don't be frightened, my child." The woman said in a soft voice as the battle layout vanished and he was back in the world. "What a horrible creature, to prey upon a poor innocent youth."

"Uh, thanks, ma'am, but I'm not quite a kid anymore. I'm Harry Potter, ma'am." Harry introduced awkwardly, extending a hand with a sheepish grin. The goat woman shook his with a surprisingly strong hand, his own feeling like a child's with how large it was.

She smiled warmly, with more than a little amusement. "I am Toriel, keeper of the Ruins. It is nice to meet you, Harry. However, to me, you are but a little one. Now, how about we leave this place? You look tired."

Harry laughed, grinning lopsidedly. Toriel reminded him of how he'd seen most mothers act, and how he imagined his would. Although, he had a niggling distrust of her because he was just attacked by a bloody flower, of all things. But hey! That's fine, right?

"Sure, Toriel. Huh, kinda sounds like 'tutorial'... Odd, right?"

Although it would make sense for her to be a tutorial character, Harry thought with an internal chuckle. She probably was, anyways. Flowey would have been a shit tutorial character, y'know, what with the whole trying-to-kill-you thing.

"Yes, it is, quite."

Harry smiled and followed Toriel out of the room, glancing back to see Flowey watching from a corner before vanishing into the ground. _Creepy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty happy to get a few comments on this with just a prolouge! Thank you! I hope this chapter did the prologue justice! If you enjoyed, please drop a comment/review/whatever you want to call them! My muse eagerly feeds on such things, and I get really giddy and more eager to write for this story! Again, if you have any ideas on stuff to add, like maybe...  
> /shrugs  
> ...Harry's reaction to something? I don't know. But, just shoot me a PM or comment/review/etc. and I'll try to add it in if I haven't already!  
> Cheers! I hope you are enjoying the story! Have an awesome day!  
> -Em


	3. Puzzling Things Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes through the Ruins and occasionally shatters the fourth wall, as promised.

Toriel was a nice conversationalist, Harry thought in amusement as the monster rambled on about puzzles in the Ruins. Oh, and Harry was completely right about her being a tutorial character.

The Ruins were nice, too. Oddly beautiful, even with the cave-y-ness.

"...as a human living in the Underground, monster may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in the fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy."

Harry nodded despite the twinge of annoyance in the back of his mind. He wasn't a child! He could handle himself. He shook himself inwardly and walked over to the dummy that Toriel had gestured to, wincing as the fight menu popped up. He was still adjusting to the whole video game thing; seeing the little star save thing had shocked him again. He thought it was a joke, but apparently not. His mind wandered... was he truly just shoved into a video game, or was he always in one...? Nope, nope, no time to think like that yet. Although Harry sincerely hoped it was the first one.

He huffed and cautiously opened the **ACT** menu, hesitating before choosing **Talk**.

 **"You talk to the Dummy. It doesn't seem much for conversation. Toriel seems happy with you."** The flavor text read. Harry snickered, inwardly snarking about the fact that the dummy was just a dummy and couldn't speak regardless.

"Ah, very good! You are very good." Toriel praised as the menu vanished. Harry sent her a small smile and the monster smiled brightly before moving onto the next room. He shrugged and followed her, pausing in the doorway before waving at the dummy. He felt a bit stupid, but why not? He might as well be polite to everything here... unlike that flower, which he would gladly throttle.

"There is another puzzle in this room. I wonder if you can solve it?" Toriel said thoughtfully as Harry caught up to her.

He raised an eyebrow as the fight menu opened up as Harry walked along after Toriel, a frog-like enemy looking at him.

"Froggit doesn't seem to know why it's here." The flavor text read. Harry snickered a bit at that, and pressed the **ACT** button. "' **Check** ,' ' **threaten** ,' or ' **compliment** '... Let's do the last one..."

" **Froggit didn't understand what you said, but was flattered anyway."** Harry laughed, grinning as the text above Froggit's head changed to say **"(blushes deeply) Ribbit..."**

Harry smiled as Toriel shooed it off, snickering at the oddness of the situation. Teddy'll appreciate the story, anyways. Toriel smiled a bit, even. "I can't believe I made a frog blush. Can frogs even blush?"

Toriel laughed lightly, shrugging her shoulders as they walked on. "I do not know, perhaps."

They came to a bunch of spikes, and Harry frowned as Toriel continued leading him forward. The goat woman glanced back and smiled reassuringly. "This is the puzzle. But, here, take my hand for a moment."

He nodded warily as he was led onto the spikes, which vanished as Toriel walked carefully through them. He was relieved when his feet touched grass again.

"Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now." She murmured, knowing eyes glancing back at him before she led him onward to the next room.

"You have done excellently thus far, my child. However, I have a difficult request to ask of you. I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this." Harry froze for a moment as Toriel quickly spoke to him and rushed ahead. Then he paused and shook his head before softly laughing and moving on. Only Toriel.

The hallway was ridiculously long, Harry noted as he walked on. His legs burned a bit at the excessive walking and his stomach growled irritably at him. Finally he got to the end of the hallway and startled when Toriel came out from behind a pillar. "Greetings my child. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise... to test your independence."

Harry had thought as much, really.

"I must attend to some business and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself." Harry nodded. Well, he didn't really mind because it gave him a chance to figure out the limits as to what he could do Apparation wise. Toriel looked unsure, but nodded anyways.

She suddenly brightened and pulled a phone out of her pocket, smiling. "I have an idea. I will give you a cell phone. If you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?"

And she left, glancing back occasionally. Harry waited a few moments to be sure she was gone, glancing at the old looking phone and examining it. It was... kind of dusty.

Harry put the phone away, and quickly turned on his heel with the intention to Apparate a few feet in front of him. He did, grimacing at the going-through-tube sensation that oddly seemed more like being-forcefully-pulled-through-straw-lined-with-spikes sensation, but brightened when he saw he indeed could still Apparate, at least inside of the mountain.

He smiled to himself and attempted to Apparate out, back to where the cliff was...

...only to open his eyes to see he was still in the Ruins. He sighed, shaking his head tiredly. Of course, that wouldn't work. He had thought it wouldn't, but he was relieved no harm had come of it. It'd be too easy if he could just Apparate out, wouldn't it?

"Well, might as well explore a bit; it can't hurt, can it? I've got nothing left to lose, really." Harry mumbled to the air.

\---------------------------------

Harry yawned as he passed through the gate, absently thinking about how odd this world is. After all, the spider bake sale is something that would probably only exist in Ron's nightmares, poor bloke. But it was nice, so far. And he'd made quite a few friends, in his short time here. Napstablook was a nice ghost, compared to some of the ones he's met. The shy ghost reminded him a bit of Neville, when they were younger.

"Harry! Did you pass through those puzzles all on your own?" Toriel said as she bustled out, wide eyed.

Harry smiled awkwardly and nodded, a bit bashful. After all, didn't she say to stay there? "Yes, sorry but I got curious."

Toriel laughed, rolling her eyes and grabbing his hand like he was a kid. Harry wasn't really offended, he'd had Molly and Hermione mothering over him for a very long time and so these odd 'must protect tiny person' instincts more or less didn't faze him. As long as she doesn't try to feed him like he's a toddler, like Molly had threatened to do once. "Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?"

"But satisfaction brought it back," Harry returned with a relieved grin. Of course she wouldn't be mad, as Harry assumed you had to leave the corridor anyways to progress. Toriel laughed and opened the doors to the house, and Harry blinked as he took in the cozy interior.

"Welcome to your new home, my child." She said warmly, turning to look at Harry. "If you need anything mo- is something burning?"

She hurried out of the room, and Harry peered around the house with wide eyes. It was nice and reminded him of the Burrow. A pang of sadness hit his heart as he thought of his friends. Not to forget Teddy, poor kid was going to be so confused when Harry was stuck here when he promised to come home in a few days... His heart ached peculiarly at that, thinking of the little Metamorphmagus' reaction to him not coming home on time. He remembered once he had come home late from an Auror mission to Teddy hysterically crying with Andromeda trying her best to comfort the little boy.

He shook his head to clear those thoughts away, slowly walking around and examining the room. It wouldn't do anyone any good for him to dwell. The best he can do is try to get home. Finally he found the room Toriel had set up for him.

It was nice; a bit childish, but Harry wasn't fussy about that sort of thing. His eyes drooped as he stumbled towards the bed, taking off his glasses, wand holster (but keeping it close by), boots and jacket and crawling in. Talking to Toriel could wait until he wasn't asleep on his feet.

\---------------------------------

Harry woke up to the smell of pie.

"Hnng..." He moaned pitifully as he roused, cracking open an eyelid to peer at where the source was. There, on the floor, was a blob that looked like it was a plate with something that looked like a slice of pie.

Harry blearily blinked and grabbed his glasses, quickly shoving them on to be sure. And sure enough, there on the floor is a little note and a slice of pie that is remarkably still warm. Harry smiled, rubbing his eyes and stretching out, allowing his back and misc. parts pop before standing.

He quickly made the bed, careful not to accidentally step on the pie while doing so, before picking up the plate and note and sitting down.

_'Harry; you fell asleep pretty fast, so I left you a piece of pie. There more, of course, but there's a piece for you. It's butterscotch cinnamon. -Toriel'_

Harry smiled softly, putting the note down and picking up the fork to eat some of the pie. His stomach appreciatively stopped attempting to eat itself, and the pie was quickly gone.

Done with eating, Harry quickly threw on his shoes and wand holster. After debating for a moment, Harry put the note into his pocket. He walked into the living room with the plate, smiling when he spotted Toriel sitting in a giant arm chair reading. "Morning Toriel; thanks for the pie."

"Good morning Harry. It was nothing, my child. You can just put that plate in the sink in the kitchen, I'll take care of it later." Toriel said brightly with a smile in return before turning back to her book.

Harry felt slightly bad about needing to ask her about how to leave. After all, Toriel was so kind to him already... But he had friends and family above ground. He _had_ to get back to Teddy; his godson needed him.

Harry nodded in thanks, walking towards the door where he assumed the kitchen was. He placed the dishes in the sink, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the white fur in the drain. He couldn't really blame her though. It must be hard to be coated in fur when it'll probably get everywhere regardless, but remarkably there was actually very little scattered around.

He walked back out into the living room, inwardly trying to find a way to broach the topic of how to get home. He knew she would get upset regardless, but he could at least try to be kind about it. "Hey, Toriel?"

"Yes, Harry?" Toriel replied, raising her eyes from her book to look at Harry.

"Do you know how I can get home? It's just, I've got people worried about me and..." Harry fumbled awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. Toriel frowned, looking a bit hurt. Harry inwardly cringed. "This is your home now."

"It's a nice place and you are a very kind person, but... it's not home. Not quite." Harry tried to explain, noticing Toriel looking agitated and that she never actually answered his question. Hmm. Looks like she does know something, after all.

"Please excuse me. I have to do something." Toriel said suddenly, putting down her book and glasses before walking out of the room. Harry blinked in confusion before following her, hurrying to keep up with her longer strides. He paused before Accio'ing his backpack, just in case. He hesitated on Accioing his jacket, before shrugging and doing it. Last time Hermione had dragged him into a set of caves, they'd needed some serious warming charms to stay warm.

Toriel went down the stairs, and so Harry took the stairs two at a time, wincing as he missed each step. He _hated_ having to skip steps, it always made his stomach knot as his foot grazed over the missed step. 'I wonder what she's doing down here, anyways.'

Harry glanced down the ominous hallway, hesitant to continue but instead simply pulling out his wand and casting Lumos. His magic jolted him before obeying, a sickly white light coming from the tip of his wand. He saw Toriel standing a few yards away, and so hurried forward, puddles splashing his jeans with murky water. Toriel looked at him and his lit wand, eyebrows furrowing. "There is one exit to the Ruins. I'm going to destroy it."

"Wha-?! No! Toriel, I just want to go home!" Harry called after her as she continued on, quickly running after her with a panic in her heart. If she destroyed that exit he was never going to get home and then probably Hermione would come and kick his ass... well, she'd do it anyways, but not as much, _maybe_. And Teddy would probably gleefully help her if he never got out on his own.

"This is your last warning child. Go back to your room; you cannot stop me." Toriel said in deadly calm as Harry caught up to her again before she was off yet again. Harry stopped from breath, panting. How could she keep walking that fast without breaking a sweat?!

Harry lurched up off the wall, tearing after Toriel yet again. The only thing keeping him going was his determination, at this point. He had to get home, he couldn't let her destroy that exit.

Toriel seemed confused when Harry finally caught up to her. "You truly do want to go back..."

"Of course I do," Harry huffed in between breaths. Toriel's determined expression faltered at his words, but finally she seemed to harden. "Show me you can take care of yourself. Asgore will show no mercy, neither will the monsters who support him. Show me you will be safe."

And with that, a fight menu opened.

Harry gaped for a moment. He had to fight Toriel? He really, really didn't want to. The **MERCY** button seemed to glimmer for a moment. Harry sighed, hitting ' **spare** '. He didn't want to hurt Toriel.

He didn't _regret_ it, per say, but Momma Goat hits hard.

\---------------------------------

"No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right to keep you here. My expectations, my loneliness, my fear... For you, my child, I will put them aside."

Harry smiled, despite the numerous welts and cuts the battle had left on him, and chose spare for the last time. "Thank you, Toriel."

"You're welcome, Harry." Toriel said sadly, walking over and hugging him with a small smile. "Be careful out there, alright Harry?"

"Of course." Harry huffed, hugging Toriel back briefly before letting go. "Goodbye, Toriel."

"Goodbye, Harry. Please... don't come back, after you leave." Harry frowned, but nodded. "As you wish."

Harry breathed a sigh before opening the door and leaving.

\---------------------------------

Harry glared at the grinning yellow flower. "What do you want?"

"Clever. Verrrryyy clever." Flowey said, ignoring Harry. Irritably, Harry pondered if it would be okay to throttle the vile creature. "You think you're really smart, don't you? Ah, but in this world, it's kill or be killed."

Harry did not like where this was going. Faintly, he thought the flower reminded him of a more annoying, more psychotic Voldemort. If that was actually possible, but this bloody flower was making him think it was definitely so.

"So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person," Flowey said mockingly. Harry felt chills down his spine at the face the flower was making. It was disturbing.

"Hee hee hee... I bet you feel really great. You didn't kill anybody... this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die! Until you tire of trying. What will you do then? Will you kill of of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world... and let ME inherit the power the control it? Oh, wait... you can't. You're stuck here, forever. This is SO much more interesting than when Frisk was around!"

Harry scowled, grinding his teeth irritably. Although the flower _did_ make a good point... he could still play pacifist. He _would_ , just to prove he could.

Just watch him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> I got some awesome reviews and I'm really happy people seem to be enjoying this! I'm trying to not quite drag out the chapters but more or less have a decent length update, so I'm sorry if it's a bit clippy it's all I could do without dragging it out completely. I wrote most of this in one go and did some serious editing later on, so it may or may not be a bit blocky but I tried my best.
> 
> Thanks for the reviews and kudos! They feed my muse! Any if you have any questions or ideas for stuff to add (as for one idea I completely revised quite a few things but I'm really happy with how it is now) just feel free to suggest things!
> 
> Cheers!  
> -Em


	4. The Boneheads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry meets our friendly local pun master and royal guardsman (note: not actually a royal guardsman yet). And has magic trouble... and breaks the forth wall a bit... and enga- I think you get it.

Harry shivered, rubbing at his jacket sleeves pitifully. There was only so much his jacket and warming charms could do, really. The cold was awful, even with his jacket on. How it was snowing here, Harry had no idea, but Hermione would have a field day explaining half of the stuff in here. He, however, couldn't care less about how it was snowing.

 

"It could be- no, it definitely _could not_ be worse." Harry grumbled, speeding up as a cold wind howled around him. It was freezing!

 

Although... Harry froze as he heard something behind him. Carefully, Harry turned his head and moved his hand to his wand, spinning around with a spell on his lips. But it was nothing.

 

Harry frowned, eyes scanning the area for footprints not his own. And, of course, there were a set towards the treeline that looked reasonably human. Although... they suddenly appeared and ended. There'd be no tracking them by footprints, then.

 

Lovely. He had a stalker.

 

"You know," Harry grumbled in annoyance under his breath. "I thought I left my stalkers behind. Nope, got a new one and I've been here not that long. Absolutely _lovely_."

 

Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair and trudging forward. He came to a bridge with bars that were too wide and was about to walk through when-

 

-a twig snapped behind him.

 

Harry stopped dead, wand already out of its holster.

 

There was a bit of shuffling behind him and finally it stopped right in back of him. "is that any way to treat a pal? turn around and shake my hand."

 

Harry spun around, wand jamming upwards and connecting with a dull noise to someone's jaw.

 

But... it was a skeleton.

 

Harry's first thought was it was an Inferi, then he remembered. Fell into a hole. Evil talking flower. Goat mom. So, a short, kinda cute skeleton shouldn't bother him.

 

"huh. nice stick; what'd you think you were going to do with it?" The skeleton chuckled, raising it's psuesdo eyebrows. Harry blinked and smirked, eyebrows waggling at the awful joke in disguise. "We-ll, I think I could do quite a bit with this 'stick', but... nothing for your eyesockets."

 

The skeleton seemed surprised for a moment before his grin brightened. "not even a peek? or, better yet, i got something that replace your measly stick..."

 

"Uh-huh, suuuure." Harry rolled his eyes, releasing the skeleton. "If you could prove it, I'd take you up on the offer... if you're a good boy. I'm Harry."

 

"sans the skeleton, at your service." The skeleton, Sans, replied with a wink. "and i could prove it... but not until the third date, shorty."

 

"If anyone's short, it's you." Harry huffed, warming to the skeleton. The skeleton grinned impossibly wider. "nah, you're about as short as me. that makes you shorty."

 

"You are infuriating."  
"you are short."

 

Harry pouted, sticking his tongue out at Sans unrepentant-ly. "And you, my fine boney friend, are on the naughty list."

 

"heh, sure shorty." Sans laughed, causing Harry to huff despite his blush. Yes, the skeleton was infuriating. But kind of refreshing. Huh, never thought he'd think that about anyone, let alone a skeleton. Well, consider his interest peaked.

 

"anyways, shorty, i'm supposed to be on the lookout for humans. but i've got no interest in hunting humans... but my brother, papyrus, he's a human hunting fanatic. he wants to capture one so he'll be able to join the royal guard. you could say he's got a... femur, for it." Harry groaned at the bad joke, facepalming promptly. Sans laughed. "anyways, let's get you to snowdin so you can get a better jacket or something. you gotta be freezing, even with that jacket."

 

Harry nodded, wincing as his warming charm faltered before puttering out completely. His magic wailed miserably in protest, refusing to do anything. Harry shuddered. Great. His magic was frailer than a newborns in this world, which was... very, very bad.

 

Sans watched this all quietly, grin turning down briefly. Harry smiled reassuringly, waving them on with a shrug. "Lead on, oh wise one."

 

"oi, i'm the lazybones, not the wise one." Sans grumbled before walking on, Harry following in his wake.

 

\--------------------

  
"hey, here's something important to remember. my brother has a very special attack." Sans said conversationally as they walked forward. Harry cocked his head curiously at the skeleton as he continued, "if you see a blue attack, don't move, and it won't hurt you. here's an easy way to keep it in mind. imagine a stop sign."

  
Harry raised an eyebrow, but nodded quietly.

  
"when you see a stop sign, you stop, right? stop signs are red. so imagine a blue stop sign instead. simple, right? when fighting, think about blue stop signs."

 

The skeleton crookedly smiled at him, poking a finger at Harry lightly. "don't be so serious, you know. it doesn't really matter."

 

Harry frowned and took another look at Sans. The skeleton shifted awkwardly under his scrutiny before Harry shook his head tiredly. So, our local punmaster knew about the SAVEs, apparently?

\---------------------------------

 

Suddenly Sans stopped and Harry squawked in protest as he walked into Sans' back, the skeleton blinking when he turned his head around to look at Harry. "uh, so, my brother's coming up the path so maybe it's best if you hide behind that conven- ah shit, um, just, hide behind me or something."

 

Harry raised an eyebrow but obediently huddled behind Sans, quickly casting a Disallusionment charm as a precaution. He shuddered at the feeling of his magic angrily obeying, as instead of the egg-being-cracked-over-head sensation it was a bit more egg-being-thrown-full-force-at-your face. His heart ached and the welts over his body seemed to burn more than usual with the use of his magic.

 

"sup, bro?" Sans asked cheerfully, as if he wasn't hiding Harry behind him. Harry absently admired his acting skills. He'd be a shit actor, himself. Once, he dimly remembers being forced into a play before Hogwarts... needless to say, it went horribly. He distantly recalls the lead in tears and the stage ruined before they were even halfway through.

 

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S 'SUP', BROTHER! IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RE-CALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?"

 

Harry tried oh-so-hard to keep his giggles in, but Sans apparently heard it as the skeleton shuffled his foot back and stepped on his toes. Harry hissed under his breath, his magic roiling moodily at the pain as if it wished to take it away but was forced not to. Damn skeleton. Heh, how he was huddled meant he could probably pull some hijinks... nah, he was good for now. He'd get Sans back later.

 

"staring at this lamp. it's really cool. do you wanna look?" No, never mind. Harry poked Sans in the middle of his spine, biting down on his lip to muffle his laughter at the way Sans jumped a bit. Wait... does that mean the skeleton was actually sensitive there? It's not like he had nerves, but... hmm... it was a thought. Harry had nothing better to do, anyways, and it was his revenge. Most he could do, what with his skin being numb despite his jacket and being all too aware of his body practically crying at the cold temperature.

 

"NO!! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?! I WANT TO BE READY!!! I WILL BE THE ONE, I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT... RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK ME TO BE MY "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!"

 

Harry finally left Sans alone and stopped poking at his spine, peering around Sans despite his wavering charm to see what this mysterious Papyrus looked like. Honestly, the guy sounds like he has an ego but, well, it's not like the bloody flower. It was disconcerting.

 

He was not disappointed. The tall skeleton seemed to blink in confusion at where Harry was poking his head out at, but was quickly distracted by Sans.

 

"hmm... maybe this lamp will help you." Merlin, Sans was... amusing, to say the least. A good distraction, though. Harry shuddered as his magic failed him for the second time that day, it moodily flooding away with a painful shock to his heart. He sucked in a breath, rubbing at his chest with a shudder. This wasn't good, not good at all.

 

"SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!!!"

 

"hey, take it easy. i've gotten a ton of work done today. a skele-ton." Harry was starting to suspect he was going to hear a lot more bad puns and jokes before he was able to go home.

 

"SANS!!!"

 

"come on. you're smiling." 'Obviously; he's a skeleton, Sans.' Harry snarked mentally, wishing this conversation would end already so Harry could get to the warmth of someplace. He almost wanted to run back to Toriel's, but as this is a video game, and, well, you can rarely backtrack to the beginning and Toriel had asked him not to return regardless.

 

"I AM AND I HATE IT! SIGH... WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION..."

 

"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself... down to the bone."

 

"UGH!!! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES... AS FOR YOUR WORK, PUT A LITTLE MORE 'BACKBONE' INTO IT!!!! NYEHEHEHEH!"

 

"Is he gone?" Harry grumbled, wincing as he straightened up. Sans turned around with a shrug, the skeleton's grin faltering at the (probably pathetic) sight of him.

 

"uh, hey, shorty, you do realize you're a bit blue in color, right?" Harry blinked owlishly, absently rubbing his arms between shivers. Sans looked like he was debating something before his grin perked up again. "so, i could make that jacket just a little bit warmer, but... it wasn't very nice to tease a guy like that."

 

"I seriously want to know how you would even manage to get junk... s'not like there's any bones in that despite the name..." Harry huffed, giving the skeleton his best set of puppy eyes. His bony companion chuckled, the arse. "you would want to know, wouldn't you? sorry shorty, all i get to say is i've got my ways."

 

Harry rolled his eyes, shuddering and gesturing Sans ahead of him. The skeleton shrugged and tugged off his jacket, dangling it just out of arms reach. "say sorry and i'll make your jacket a bit warmer until you can get a new one."

 

"Sorry! I'll be the best person ever if you warm me up a bit," Harry whined. He turned reproachful green eyes at Sans, watering them a bit for effect. "And I'll probably freeze to death without more warmth then you'll be sad."

 

Sans grinned and waved a skeletal hand, left eye flaring blue. A rush of magic that was almost tangible streamed in a controlled, easy manner towards him and wrapped Harry in a cocoon of warmth. Oddly enough, as if it couldn't get any stranger, his magic stopped its sulking and almost vibrated in his veins. It if were a cat, it would surely be purring. Harry shoved those thoughts away as Sans gave him a smug look, if a bit forced. Harry wondered if he'd felt that weird sensation too. Then the look was gone and Sans was speaking again.

 

"all better, princess?" The skeleton said slyly, and Harry blinked as a pink and gold tiara materialized in Sans' hand with the customary blue eye flash. "Oh hell no; you've got to be kidding me."

 

"nope." Bastard.

 

"I hate you." Harry grumbled pathetically as Sans put the tiara on him, inwardly grimacing. He thought he'd escaped being forced to put on tiaras after Teddy outgrew his princess stage, but nooo.

 

His skeletal companion grinned impossibly wider, shrugging in a 'what can you do' way. "nah, you love me."

 

"So says you." Harry huffed, snuggling deeper into the jacket. It was saturated in Sans' magic, or whatever they called it here. It was oddly nice, like being wrapped in a hug. It didn't even bother him, really. Although, he could do without the lingering smell of ketchup, probably. He began to wonder why it even smelled like ketchup if they were in a video game- but stopped himself. His head would hurt and he'd probably have a meltdown if he had to try and figure that out.

 

Sans grinned crookedly, picking up his hand (what is it with people and leading him around like a little kid?) and dragging Harry forwards. Harry rolled his eyes and walked after Sans, allowing the skeleton to lead him around. After all, he knew the way around, probably.

 

"so, i would just take a shortcut to snowdin, but my brother has his soul set on seeing a human, so... we're gonna go do his puzzles, ok? it'll be fun."

 

Harry took a moment for that to sink in. Then shrugged and decided he could do a few puzzles; after all, Sans did share a bit of magic to warm him up despite his 'teasing' and the fact that he knew he'd replaced this 'Frisk' character. Or, well, it appeared that Sans knew anyways.

 

"Fine by me; though, I'm counting this as a date." Harry warned, waggling his free finger at Sans when the skeleton glanced over in surprise at his words. Sans chuckled, waving his free hand flippantly. "eh, whatever you want princess. i'll even feed you if you'll do his puzzles."

 

"Deal." Harry said immediately, hurrying forward and hooking his arm jauntily with Sans'. His companion raised a pseudo eyebrow, forcing a look of mock hurt on his face. "hey now, i'm starting to think you like me because i'll feed you and am keeping you warm."

 

Harry snickered, lightheartedly bumping his shoulder with Sans'. "Not at all, Sansy baby, those are just bone-us."

 

Sans laughed, shoving his shoulder back in retaliation. "sure princess, sureee."

 

\---------------------------------

"so, uh, i'm gonna go over here and you need to wait a few minutes before coming over towards me, if you don't mind princess." Sans said as they moved forward, and Harry cocked his head in confusion before noticing the tall figure moving towards where they were. Still a bit confused, Harry shrugged and nodded before sending Sans a wink. "Don't think about me too much, 'kay?"

 

Sans snickered and shooed him off, and Harry laughed as he made to turn around. He squeaked as his ass was slapped, sending a glare to the unrepentant skeleton who merely smirked. "get goin', you slowpoke."

 

Harry scoffed and walked backwards a few feet, making a throat cutting gesture (but he was sure his smile was evidence enough he didn't mean it) before hustling away.

 

The magic that had kept him warm fell away for a moment before latching on again a bit more roughly than before as Sans went out of range.

 

\---------------------------------

 

"SANS!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT... A HUMAN?!?!?!?"

  
Harry snickered as he watched the two skeletons banter, wistfully wishing he had popcorn. He had walked back to the two after talking to a snowman, only to find them in a discussion about somebody named 'Undyne'. Papyrus, however, had cut off and looked at him and that was about the point that he was at currently.

  
"uhm.... actually... i think that's a rock." Okay, now that's mean. Harry scowled at Sans. 'They'll never find the body', he mouthed at Sans. The skeleton grinned a bit more widely, the arse.

  
"OH."

  
"hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

  
"OH MY GOD!!! (IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?)" Harry internally screamed as he practically could hear the bloody parenthases. Nooo! No more video game nonsense! Why does the game insist on brutally shattering his happy viewpoints with the whole stupid video game thing! (Sure, some of the perks were kind of cool, but damn it Harry was not happy with this situation!)

  
"(yes.)"

  
Harry facepalmed. Why? Sans was grinning in the corner of his eye, as usual.

  
Meanwhile, Papyrus... seemed really happy to know he was a human. Probably due to the whole 'Royal Guard' thing he was gushing over earlier. "OH MY GOD!!! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO... POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!"

  
Harry snickered a bit at that, trying to bite down on his lip to stop the noise from escaping his throat. Aww! It was oddly cute that the skeleton was so excited about being popular, even if it was a tad sad. How could nobody want to be friends with him? He seemed like a pretty nice guy, if a bit egocentric (but not to such extreme measures as Flowey, the little shit).

  
"AHEM. HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN!!! ... I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!"

  
And with that, Papyrus ran off.

  
Harry snickered a bit as he walked towards Sans and allowed him to take his hand and drag him after Papyrus, as usual.

 

\---------------------------------

 

"What's this?" Harry queried as he noticed a sign off to the side. ' **Absolutely NO moving**!' it read. Sans grinned but stayed quiet. Well, that's probably _not_ good. Harry sighed and continued moving, his skeletal companion lazily shuffling along next to him.

 

Harry startled as a flash of movement caught on his peripheral vision.

 

A dog-like creature was peering out from behind a stand, and Harry blinked in confusion when it started to talk in a yappy voice. "Did something move? Was it only my imagination? I can see only moving things... if something was moving... for example, a human... I'll make sure it _never_ moves again!"

 

Shit. Harry took a wide-eyed glance at Sans and scowled as the skeleton shrugged in an over exaggerated manner. He'd be no help then.

 

He took one look at the fighting menu before cursing viciously. Stupid, stupid video game-ness!

 

Sans was snickering over in the corner, and Doggo was currently looking as hard as possible around him as if he thought that if he squinted enough, he'd see Harry.

 

**"Doggo blocks the way!"**

 

Harry rubs a hand through his hair grumpily and whacks the **ACT** button, blinking as his choices appeared. " **'CHECK'** or ' **PET** ', huh?"

 

The black-haired man rubbed a hand over his face with a huff before selecting **PET**.

" **Doggo is too suspicious of your movements.** " Crap. The bullet board popped up and Harry blinked in confusion as Doggo told him not to move.

Harry was about to move but then realized... was that sword blue? Wasn't he supposed to actually stop? With much hesitation, Harry stayed in place as the blue sword bushed over his heart. He breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened.

" **Doggo can't seem to find anything.** " Harry sighed and attempted to click **PET** again. Harry rolled his eyes as the previous text repeated itself and he stayed still again for the giant blue sword. Doggo seemed a bit confused, however.

Harry chanced a look at Sans, who was currently snickering and eating some popcorn. Where, or even _how_ he got popcorn, Harry would probably never know. Harry rolled his eyes and selected PET again. " **You pet Doggo."**

 

Doggo appeared to be freaking up, puffing up and barking quite loudly. It was a bit silly, really. "What! I've been pet!"

 

Harry laughed quietly as Doggo continued to bark the word pet before selecting spare. He sighed when Doggo vanished and the world came back into focus.

 

Sans gestured at Doggo, and Harry watched in amusement as Doggo started to speak again. "S-S-Something pet me... Something that isn't m-m-moving... I'm gonna need some dog treats for this!!!"

 

Harry finally allowed himself to laugh when Doggo vanished back into his post. That was silly, but kind of nice.

 

Sans grinned and grabbed his hand again before leading him on again.

 

\---------------------------------

"So, why a tiara?"

 

Harry finally grumbled to Sans as they walked on, pouting a bit.

 

The skeleton turned his head to look at Harry, white pinprick pupils focusing on him even as he expertly dodged all rocks and logs hidden in the snow. He grinned cheekily, a faint blue blush dusting his cheekbones. "why not, princess? you act like one enough, anyways. i thought you'd appreciate it."

 

"Not at all. It seems more like punishment, regardless." Harry huffed even as he stumbled on a rock that was hidden in the snow and was pulled back up by Sans as if it was nothing.

 

Sans winked at him, grinning crookedly as they continued moving. "there is that. after all, you were poking a pretty, ah, _sensitive_ area."

 

Harry ignored the skeleton eyebrow waggle thing Sans did and the lewd look on his face. He almost audibly growled in frustration, his face attempting to do a fairly impressive imitation of a tomato with how hot his face felt. He idly thought it could probably melt snow with how hot his face felt. "You stepped on my foot, _bonehead_!"

 

They continued to bicker over why it was unfair/fair that the tiara had been forced on Harry until finally Harry gave up and slapped a hand lightly over Sans' mouth mid-sentence. It wasn't like he coul-

 

-d lick him... or maybe he could.

 

"Sans! Bloody hell, mate!" Harry squealed as a slimy blue tongue wrapped around his hand, getting blue slightly glowy drool everywhere. Sans laughed as much as he could around his new tongue, releasing Harry's hand with his own skeleton version of an eyebrow waggle. "heh, betcha didn't expect me to actually have a tongue?"

 

"No, I didn't." Harry huffed, urging his finicky magic to clean off the glowy blue saliva Sans had left. He winced as it practically scrubbed his hand raw before retreating. "Though now I suppose I get why you say you could give yourself junk, after all, if you can give yourself a tongue..."

 

Sans laughed. Figures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked my arse off on this; it's been rewritten at least twice and had many, many, manyyy edits. I'm satisfied with it now, anyways. We're slowing down a for a little while and getting a bit more into the whole video game thing. I'm out of prewritten stuff now, but I THINK I can write another chapter within a week... Although, at the very least, comments will get me off my lazy arse and guilt me into writing more quickly. Anyways, tell me what you think and if you have any ideas for tags/the story/pairings. Yeah, most pairings aren't concrete but a couple such as the main pair and a few others (Asgore/Hermione is happening, by the way, awesome commenter!)
> 
> Well, cheers! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em


	5. Too Many Bloody Puzzles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's exactly as the chapter title suggests. Harry's had enough puzzles to last him a million lifetimes, at least according to him.

"harry, you wouldn't mind exploring for a bit without me again, right? i've got to go talk to paps for a bit, so feel free to drop in at any time and interrupt." Sans explained, shrugging with a wink in a 'what can you do' manner. Harry nodded, idly drumming his fingers on his arms where they were crossed.

Sans grinned and walked off, and when Harry blinked for a mere moment he was gone. The black haired man shrugged, rolling his eyes before walking off to explore. He again ignored the unfamiliar magic clenching down as he walked further away.

  
\---------------------------------

  
"YOU'RE SO LAZY! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!"

  
Harry startled as Papyrus' voice rang out, the annoyed tone clearer than a glass pane. Ah, yes, scoldings. He was familiar with those, being the recipient of many ranging from 'being out too late' to 'nearly dying again for the millionth time'.

Actually, speaking of scoldings... it's been almost a day since his conversation with Hermione. He wondered when she was going to come swooping in like the wrathful mother bear she is to come rescue him from the awful video game-ness. Or, well, actually, maybe he'd rather she not show up... he likes his pride still in tact, and rather appreciates the fact that she hasn't even dropped in unexpectedly in the last two months.

  
Though, after this stunt (even though it completely is _NOT_ his fault!) he has a feeling Hermione is going to be dropping in more unexpectedly than _ever_. Would it even _be_ unexpectedly dropping in if he expects her to just show up at all times, really? Regardless, his thoughts had already caused him to miss a few lines of dialogue. Harry turned his attention to the conversation around him.

  
"OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES! I ORDER TO STOP YOU... MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE... QUITE SHOCKING!!! FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE... ELECTRICITY MAZE! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN??? BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE, IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK! OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."

  
The black haired man raised an eyebrow and walked forward with more than a little apprehension. Imagine his surprise when as soon as his foot touches the snow, there's a zapping noise and Papyrus is a blackened, sooty mess. Harry looked wide eyed at the skeleton, wincing at the scorches. Ouch.

  
That had to hurt quite a bit, he would think. He's been hexed, cursed, poisoned, stabbed, almost drowned, nearly fallen to his death, but never has he ever been electrocuted. He counts himself lucky for that, at any rate. It seems quite painful compared to the former near death experiences.

  
"SANS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!" The taller skeleton screeched, and Harry bit back a laugh at the words. He was torn between faint loyalty to Sans and the 'protect the tall innocent skeleton' vibes he was getting. Idly, Harry wondered if this strange mothering instinct is why he was always treated like a kid. It's probable, at any rate.

  
"i think the human has to hold the orb." Sans' voice interrupted his inner monologue and Harry turned his attention to the two skeleton brothers. Right, yes, invisible electricity maze to navigate and electrocuted skeletons to deal with.

  
"OH, OK."

  
Papyrus, instead of walking around the puzzle, walked in a specific pattern through the 'maze.' Behind him were inky black footprints. Harry held back a laugh, sharply biting his tongue. The burst of pain was enough to stop the laughter in it's tracks; if it had tracks, anyways. Wait, no, that was a pun... shit. He hasn't even been around the skeleton that long and he's already mentally thinking of accidental puns.

  
While Harry had been groaning about how even in his mind nothing was safe from Sans, Papyrus had reached the edge of them maze. Harry blinked as Papyrus' shadow cast itself over him, mentally scowling as he realized the skeleton dwarfed him completely. _Unfair_. Why was everyone taller than him?

  
"HOLD THIS PLEASE." Harry squawked as the orb was tossed at him, fumbling for a moment before his old Seeker reflexes kicked in and he clutched the orb safely to his chest. Papyrus grinned brightly before wheeling around and walking back the way he came to the opposite side of the maze.

  
"OKAY, TRY NOW!" Papyrus called out.

  
Harry bit his cheek to stop himself from laughing, instead looking as hard as he could at the snow. Papyrus didn't even seem to realize that he'd accidentally made a trail through the snow for Harry to follow. Sans gave him a wink, and Harry let loose a small chuckle before walking through the puzzles after the footsteps. Papyrus looked on with varying degrees of awe, somehow missing the trail that Harry was following.

  
"INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY... TOO EASILY! HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!"

Finally, Harry snickered and raised an eyebrow at Sans. "I'm touched, really, but don'tcha think I can get through one itty bitty maze?"

"nope." Sans grinned widely, shrugging.

Harry huffed, crossing his arms stubbornly. Sans laughed, walking forward and grabbing his loosely by his elbow. Harry didn't try to stop him. So what if Sans wanted to drag him around like a kid? It's not like he actually cared enough to protest. He seemed to know where they needed to go, anyways.

"hey, thanks... my brother seems like he's having fun." Sans finally broke the silence as they moved on. Harry shrugged before he realized that technically Sans couldn't see him. "It was nothing. Kinda fun, actually."

Sans turned his head back to smile, eyes bright. "by the way, did you see that weird outfit he's wearing? we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party. he hasn't worn anything else since... keeps calling it his 'battle body.' man. isn't my brother cool?"

"The coolest," Harry grinned. Maybe this 'adventure' wouldn't be so bad?

\---------------------------------

Harry looked curiously at the blue bunny monster that was selling 'Nice Creams'. He looked pretty bummed out, and Harry could at least buy something from him...

"Hey, why don't you chill out here for a bit? I wanna check this out," he offered as an explanation to Sans when he went to go investigate. The skeleton grinned, waving as he started to walk ahead. "snow problem, princess. don't get bonely thinking about me."

He huffed. Sans was infuriating.

With a goodnatured sigh, Harry turned and walked over to the vendor. He wondered how the monster was actually managing to not freeze wearing just a short sleeved shirt and suspenders. But, well, he was a bunny monster. Harry just kind of left the topic alone there, as it would make sense for him to be fine in just that; he had fur to keep him warm, the lucky guy.

"I don't understand why these aren't selling... It's the perfect weather for something cold..." Harry laughed quietly, and the monster looked up quickly and visibly perked up. "OH!!!! A CUSTOMER!!!"

Harry bowed, grinning. "Hello, that'd be me."

The monster smiled brightly, mirth appearing on his face. "Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15G!"

"Sure," Harry said without batting an outward eyelash at the little menu on the side that told him his gold balance and space left. Inward, he was bashing his head off of every available surface. Or unavailable. Maybe if he mentally smacks his head hard enough he'll die and it'll be just a bad dream.

"Here you go!" The vendor said happily as he took the gold and handed over a wrapped ice cream. "Have a super-duper day!"

"Ditto," Harry said with a jaunty wave as he put away the Nice Cream into where ever his items he collects goes. He didn't really want to think of where the items go; he'd end up with a migraine the size of the universe and an existential issue and probably go through a mid-life crises.

The vendor looked a bit more happy and Harry hummed to himself as he walked after the trail of footprints that would lead him to Sans. There, his 'being nice to people' quota for the day was fulfilled.

The skeleton was half asleep standing up, staring blankly into the space in front of him. Harry frowned for a moment, opening his mouth to say something but closing it at the last minute. He had no idea what to say anyways. Better to let Sans get back to reality ('which isn't reality but is and this is confusing could it even be considered reality because of the video game thing?') on his own.

Suddenly, he snapped back into focus and grinned as if he wasn't just staring into nothingness. "i've been thinking about selling treats too."

"Wouldn't of thought you the type." Harry snarked, rolling his eyes affectionately. "You strike me more of a 'get a job that involves standing around doing nothing important and sleeping' kind of guy."

Sans huffed, bumping his shoulder with Harry's as they started walking again. "eh, you got me there."

\---------------------------------

Again, Sans stopped them and pointed up ahead. "paps, again. i know, i know, it's snow fun without me, but duty calls."

Harry groaned. "You've already used that one!"

"did i? damn, i was hoping it would skate right over your attention." Sans winked and within the second it took for Harry to open his mouth to speak he vanished.

He shook his head in a mix of amusement and exasperation. Might as well check back and see if he missed anything important... like those huts he saw near Sans but never actually checked out.

\---------------------------------

Well, that went well. Apparently, Doggo isn't the only dog monster who's on the lookout for humans. Harry dragged a hand through his hair, huffing as he walked into the next area. Papyrus and Sans were awaiting him, as usual, and a slip of paper was on the ground. Presumably that was his puzzle.

"HUMAN!!! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR... SANS!! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!!!"

  
"it's right there. on the ground. trust me. there's no way they can get past this one." Sans winked, and Harry rolled his eyes. Typical Sans.

  
Papyrus looked reassured and looked at Harry with a look that cleanly said 'no way you'll get past this one.' Stubbornly, Harry trodded over to the slip of paper in the middle of the clearing and plopped down. He ignored the frozen state of the ground and looked at the paper. He snickered as he looked at the puzzle; it was just a crossword. He used to like doing these as a kid.

  
Harry sent a grin over to the two skeletons and picked up the pen dropped haphazardly near the paper, plopping the paper on his knee and actually solving it.

  
Too bad that after he finished it all of the marker disappeared. Harry made a pained noise and glared at Sans, who tried to look as innocent and not-guilty as possible. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, trudging towards the two with a grumpy expression.

  
"SANS!! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!"

  
'Anything but annoy me and waste my time, that is,' Harry snarked mentally. Bloody Sans.

  
"whoops. i knew i should have used today's crossword instead."

"WHAT?! CROSSWORD!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION... JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST."

  
"what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that's for baby bones." Sans seemed to be enjoying himself way too much. Harry wasn't sure whether he was actually enjoying this or just humoring his brother at this point. Regardless, somehow Harry felt like he was going to be called in to fix this argument.

  
"UN-BELIEVABLE. HUMAN! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!"

  
Welp, there we go. Exactly as he thought. Harry honestly could barely remember if he'd even done a word scramble before (well, he probably did as his teachers before Hogwarts had enjoyed forcing them on the students if they had finished work), he thought crosswords were pretty easy regardless and he had a fair bit of fun doing them. So... "Junior Jumble, guys. Much harder than a crossword; shame on you Sans."

  
The skeleton stuck out his tongue, vanishing after the brief second it took Harry to see it. Harry flushed, startled at the filthy thoughts that cropped up at the sight of it. ' _No! Bad brain! Stop that; don't you dare sexualize the skeleton_!' He almost wished he could Obliviate himself of those thoughts. But, they'd probably come back, he mentally sighed. Damn. Sans seemed to be confused before a bright blue flush spread over his face, but he grinned wider if that was possible and even dared to _wink_ \- **_wink!_** -at him. Harry scowled.

  
Papyrus, luckily, didn't notice this exchange.

  
"HA! HA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH! HEH HEH!"

  
Papyrus ran off, practically skipping. Harry snickered at the sight despite his lingering blush and walked over to Sans. The latter grinned with a small blush still lingering, walking alongside Harry as they started to move again.

  
"thanks for saying 'junior jumble' just to appease my brother. yesterday he got stumped trying to 'solve' the horoscope."

"That's... pretty funny, actually." Harry commented as they walked on. Sans rolled his eyes, ruffling his hair. "sure, sure, not when you're called in to make sure it's correct."

"That's pretty funny too, bonehead."

"what did i even do to you?"

"Erased all of my answers." (' _Put filthy thoughts in my head because of your bloody tongue. Made me want a nun or some crap to douse me in holy water to get said thoughts of of my head._ ')

"heheh... you caught me."

\------------

In the next room, Harry was baffled as Sans stopped in front of a SAVE point and oddly enough, a plate of spaghetti, an unplugged microwave, a mouse hole, and a note on the ground.

"huh, would you look at that? this spaghetti isn't too bad for my brother. since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot. i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible." Sans said airily as he gestured at the plate of spaghetti. Harry snickered when he noticed it was frozen to the table.

While Sans was poking at the spaghetti, Harry plodded over to check out the note. It was a bit damp from the snow, but legible. It was, unsurprisingly, from Papyrus.

'HUMAN!! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI. (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP... DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!! YOU'LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT THAT YOU WON'T REALIZE YOU AREN'T PROGRESSING!! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!! NYEH-HEH-HEH, PAPYRUS.'

Harry huffed out a laugh, shaking his head as he put down the note. He bit back a pained noise when he noticed the SAVE point again, mentally smashing the star-like SAVE into a million pieces. _Fucking. Video. Game. **Logic!**_

But, well, he knew he had to use it. What for, don't ask him. He's had a _few_ brushes with death here and there on here, but he hasn't managed to die yet. So, he's assuming if you die you go back to the last SAVE point. Well, and then were were the whole ' _HP fully restored thing_.' He found it ironic that his initials, not counting his middle name, were HP as well.

'(Knowing that the mouse might one day find a way to heat up the spaghetti... It fills you with determination.)'

He rolled his eyes, a bit amused. This while 'determination' thing was a big theme, and he felt like there'd be even more mentions of it later on. Nothing concrete, but the few mentions were probably more than a silly ongoing joke. At least, that's what his gut said. Generally, his gut knew best and has saved his neck a fair few times.

He finally nudged Sans, dragging him away from the frozen spaghetti and onward. "C'mon, I'm getting tired."

"alright, alright princess, chill out would you?"

"Sans! You bonehead," Harry whined. Sans chuckled, a smug look on his face.

\---------

"' **Warning: Dog Marriage** '?" Harry questioned as they passed a sign. Sans shrugged, making a noncommittal noise. "yeah, dogamy and dogaressa. they should be around here. actually, so should lesser dog..."

"Who's Lesser Dog?" Harry asked curiously. Sans gestured in front of him and Harry blinked in surprise as a humanoid dog stared at him, tail wagging. The fight menu popped up, again, and Harry ran a hand over his face in exhaustion. "You've got to be kidding me."

"nope." Sans said simply from the corner of the menu, lounging back and slurping away at what looked like a ketchup packet.

 **"Lesser Dog cocks its head to one side."** Harry read. Lesser Dog whined, and Harry sighed before selecting the **ACT** menu.

" **PET** , **PET** , **PET,** **PET** , or **PET**... wonder which one to choose." Harry snickered sarcastically. He blinked as he realized that Sans was snoring in the corner of the menu... lazy skeleton.

He shrugged and randomly selected a **PET** option, grinning at the flavor text. " **You barely lifted your hand and Lesser Dog got excited**."

Harry blinked as he realized that Lesser Dog's neck had gotten longer. But he had no time to actually take that in as he realized that Lesser Dog was now on the offense. Surprisingly, Lesser Dog's attacks weren't too bad. Well, maybe not surprisingly. Harry considered the dog for a moment and nodded to himself. Yeah, it didn't seem like Lesser Dog actually wants to hurt anyone. They probably just want a bunch of pets and treats.

" **Lesser Dog is barking excitedly.** " Harry read. Indeed, the dog was barking and sending Harry a pleading look. Harry considered it before he sighed and gave in, choosing **PET** again.

And again... and again...

Throughout the 'fight', Harry watched in fascination as the dogs neck got longer and longer until it went through the menu and came back down, and then continued to get longer and longer...

Finally, Harry shook himself out of it and spared the dog. That long neck was both hilarious and horrifying. It would probably haunt his nightmares.

Sans grumbled as he woke up just in time to see the menu vanish and Lesser Dog's neck go back to normal. He squinted at Harry before chuckling. "so, you did the thing too, huh?"

Harry shrugged, a flush creeping up his neck. "I _may_ have a problem."

"no duh." Sans replied with a grin. Harry laughed and plodded forward, and he grinned as he noticed the giant snow pile. Oh man, this was gonna be great...!

Harry bit his cheek to stop the laughter threatening to give him away as he gathered a bunch of snowballs, the palms of his hands freezing compared to the relative coziness and warmth of his jacket. But, a bit of cold was good enough for getting revenge on Sans. Said skeleton was a bit busy trying to open another ketchup packet to notice Harry had made a small pile of snowballs until it was a bit too late...

***SPLAT***

Harry laughed as Sans froze in place and looked at Harry, snow dripping off of his face. He looked ridiculous, ketchup smeared on his hand where it had tightened on the snowballs impact and a bit on the corner of his mouth. Snow and bits of dirt were smashed against his skull, finishing the ridiculous picture. Although... his left eye was flashing again...

A pile of snow suddenly dropped onto Harry, and he yelped in shock. "Sans! No fair!"

The skeleton laughed, grinning with snow still stuck to his face. Although, his cheeks seemed a bit blue. "c'mon princess, don't be so icy. it's snow fun."

Harry made an unintelligible noise that sounded quite a bit like various curse words and what Sans could do with his puns. His skeletal companion chuckled, eyes bright as he doubled over in laughter.

\-----------

After an encounter with Dogamy and Dogaressa (who didn't actually think Harry was human due to his romp in the snow with Sans and instead thought he was a lost puppy), Sans had vanished with a wink telling him simply 'duty calls' before he left Harry on his own for a bit. Although, it was doubtful he went far. This time, the now familiar presence of Sans' magic had only clenched a little compared to the last few times.

" **'Turn every O into an X and press the switch,'** " Harry read off of the sign. Easy enough, he thought with a yawn. He carefully walked over the O's, turning them into X's, and simply flicked the switch. There was a click and Harry turned to start moving forward again to see the spikes were gone. Papyrus, however, stood in his way. Harry waved sluggishly, looking curiously at the stunned skeleton.

"WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY... IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???"

He was worried about the spaghetti? Well, it wouldn't due to tell him that it was too cold to eat... "It looked so good I had to leave it so you could have some, Papyrus. After all, you deserve some too."

"REALLY?!? WOWIE!! YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOMECOOKED PASTA-- JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME???" Papyrus looked so happy, grin stretched wide across his face. Harry smiled back, nodding. He felt a bit bad lying, but if it made Papyrus happy then so be it. Damn weird mothering instincts.

Papyrus suddenly struck a pose, scarf billowing in an invisible, unfelt wind. He looked rather silly, but Harry didn't mention it. "FRET NOT HUMAN! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS... WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH NYEH!"

And with that, Papyrus ran off again. Honestly, would it kill him to stick around and talk for a bit?

\-------------

"MY BROTHR STARTED A SOCK COLLECTION RECENTLY. HOW SADDENING... SOMETIMES, I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD DO... WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM??? NYEH HEH HEH!" Harry smiled tiredly at the skeleton. Papyrus, as it turns out, had gone to the next room. "I think he'd miss you. I know _I_ would miss you."

Papyrus perked up, orange tinting his cheeks. "REALLY, HUMAN? YOU THINK SO?"

"Completely. Who wouldn't?" Harry asked rhetorically before moving forward. Papyrus followed him, and Harry blinked in surprise. Huh. That's new.

"HUMAN! HMM... HOW DO I SAY THIS? YOU WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO, I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE... BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE! UNFORTUNATLY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND. NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT! AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND!" That's... not good. Not the whole 'Sans vanished', that's fine, but the whole 'puzzle is different and until further notice we're stuck here' thing, Harry mentally grumbled. He liked the occasional puzzle, but damn this is way too many bloody puzzles for him to handle.

"I SUPPOSE WHAT I'M SAYING IS... WORRY NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED! MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I'LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!!!"

Harry grinned. "Gotcha, I think I've got this."

Papyrus gestured him along, and Harry yawned as he examined the puzzle. If he walked over these... but then he'd step on that one again when looping back... so maybe if he went this way...? Yeah, that's it.

Harry tiredly trudged over the O's, lazily turning the switch once he finished. There was a satisfying ' _click_ ' and Papyrus looked between him and the completed puzzle in awe.

"WOW!!! YOU SOLVED IT!! AND YOU DID IT ALL WITHOUT MY HELP... INCREDIBLE! I'M IMPRESSED!! YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO! WELL, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!! NYEH! HEH HEH! HEHEHEHEH!"

Papyrus grinned and waved before he ran off again, and Harry hid his smile with a hand. He really grows on you, Papyrus. Harry was reminded of a puppy; though, if Papyrus is a puppy, then Sans is that one asshole house cat that everyone seems to love... Garry or something... Garfield? It's Garfield.

He shrugged to himself, walking onwards with a stifled yawn.

"good job on solving it so quickly. you didn't even need my help. which is great, 'cause i love doing absolutely nothing." Harry jumped as Sans spoke from beside him. The skeleton chuckled, nudging his shoulder against Harry's with a smile. "geez, you're really tired, aren't you?"

"I've been walking for hours and dealing with monsters constantly attempting to murder me so they can have my soul. You'd be tired too."

"hey, i've been walking along with you for most of the time!" Sans protested with a wink. Harry groaned, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "You slept through most of the fights, you numbskull."

"that's true, i guess." Sans shrugged. "anyways, paps should be in the next room."

Harry yawned and was about to say thanks but Sans had already vanished. Harry almost wanted to know how he did that, but refrained from thinking about it.

\----------

"HEY! IT'S THE HUMAN! YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS! YOU SEE THESE TILES!? ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH... THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION."

Oh, lovely. Another puzzle. Joy. Harry really just wanted to lay down and sleep, but as usual he had to continue on and continue fighting and doing puzzles until he could get to Snowdin.

"RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER!! ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS. BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH IF YOU LIKE, BUT... IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES! THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU. ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP... SMELLS LIKE LEMONS!! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OK! FINALLY, PINK TILES! THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE! HOW WAS THAT?! UNDERSTAND?"

His head span. What even? 'So many colors... too many.' Harry rubbed his head, blinking rapidly to clear his head. "Okay, yeah; pink, blue, purple, and orange are fine..."

"GREAT!! THEN THERE'S ONE LAST THING... THIS PUZZLE... IS ENTIRELY RANDOM!!!!!! WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE... THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION! NYEH HEH HEH! GET READY...!"

Harry felt like something was going to go wrong. For who, he wasn't too sure.

The puzzle cycles through a bunch of random patterns, faster and faster until finally... it stopped. It was _literally_ a path of pink tiles straight over to Papyrus and Sans. He snickered, and Sans had shoved a hand over his mouth to hide his grin.

Papyrus had his eyes crossed, a frustrated and disgruntled expression on his face before he made a strangled "NYEEEHHHH" and spun away.

Harry burst out laughing, along with Sans.

\-----

Harry yawned as they walked along. Sans was quiet for once, and other than the occasional rustle of a ketchup packet being torn open, it was a comfortable silence they found themselves in.

"that's a snow poff... oh look, a snow poff... what's this? a snow poff!" Sans said dryly as Harry examined the snow poffs. As they continued to move on through the snow poffs, Harry noticed a small puffy white dog among them. "Hey ther-"

He gaped as the dog stood up and it was actually in a giant suit of armor. Sans was cracking up in the background, and Harry rolled his eyes as a fight menu popped up. C'mon, people, he just wanted to sleep and not die. Is that _so bad_?

 **"It's the Greater Dog."** The flavor text read. Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair and selecting **ACT** again. Hesitantly, Harry chose **CALL**. Greater Dog was, after all, too far away to be **PET** yet.

" **You call the Greater Dog. It bounds towards you, flecking slobber in your face.** " Harry grimaced as the dog did exactly that. Sans was grinning in a Cheshire Cat way on the sidelines.

Greater Dog's attacks, though, were very not funny. Harry hissed in pain as a large welt appeared on his nose and mouth, his chest aching at the damage. "You're cute buddy, but that hurt."

Greater Dog chose to ignore that and instead chose to look at Harry a bit pleadingly. **"Greater Dog is seeking affection."**

With a long suffering sigh, Harry chose to **PET** Greater Dog. The giant dog was soft, anyways. It wasn't like he loved petting dogs, or anything, nope. (Okay, yes, he loved petting dogs. He'd always had a soft spot for them, more so when he met Sirius.) **"Greater Dog curls up in your lap as it is pet by you. It gets so comfortable it falls asleep... Zzzzz... Then it wakes up. It's so excited!"**

"Heh, nice buddy, but could you stop attacking me, that'd be useful." Harry panted as he dodged the attacks again, sweat beading on his forehead. He was getting a ridiculous workout by this; who even gets a work out from dodging attacks with their soul?

 **"Greater Dog is patting the ground with its front paws."** Harry rubbed his eyes, choosing **PET** again. **"As you pet the dog, it's entire weight sinks into you. Your movements slow. But, you still haven't pet enough...!"**

Well, at least he was getting somewhere, right?

 **"Pet capacity is 40-percent."** The flavor text read. Harry sighed and chose **PET** again. Sans had vanished from the menu, and idly Harry wondered where he went. Probably had to go stall Papyrus or something.

 **"You pet decisively. Pet capacity reaches a 100 percent. The dog flops over with its legs hanging in the air."** Finally. Not that he didn't enjoy petting Greater Dog, but its attacks could really go shove it. He was at 10 percent health, give him a break!

 **"Greater Dog is contented."** Harry sighed in relief. Good. And, its name was in yellow. Harry eagerly chose SPARE and was relieved when the menu vanished.

Greater Dog got down on his knees and Harry was startled when a small dog, like he had originally thought that Greater Dog was, hopped out of the head spot. He quickly knelt down and petting the dog, smiling indulgently. The dog yapped and slurped a drooly kiss on his face, and Harry snickered despite the drool coating his glasses and face.

Greater Dog yapped again and hopped backwards into its armor, butt in the air and tail wagging as it walked off.

Harry laughed and continued on, after wiping off his glasses and face of course.

\-----

"Not at _all_ creepy," Harry huffed half-heartedly as he looked out across the rickety hanging bridge. He slowly edged on it, the bridge creaking ominously and swinging slightly. He hissed out a breath, taking a few careful steps forward.

It continued like that for a while; few steps forward, pause, few steps forward, pause...

Finally Harry startled as Papyrus' voice rang out, jumping and sending the bridge swinging a bit wildly. He cursed, clinging to the rails with clammy hands. Shit. Why was this even a good idea? Who came up with the dangerous hanging bridge and didn't think to add maybe a wooden one that isn't held up by easily damageable rope?!?

"HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

Harry winced as he looked at the weapons that appeared; well, weapons and a small white fluffy dog. Somehow, he felt like it shouldn't be trifled with. Odd. Though, Harry almost wanted to know where the items had come from. Uh... video game logic, he supposed. His head hurt just thinking about it.

He turned his attention to Papyrus, apprehension showing on his face. Worse case scenario, he Apparates to the other side if the bridge fails or potentially has a high chance of death.

"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!! ARE YOU READY!? BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!"

Awkward silence other than the occasionally creaking of the bridge. Harry raised an eyebrow, a tad hopeful. Maybe it couldn't be activated?

"well? what's the holdup?"

Ah, trust Sans to point out the obvious.

"HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I'M... I'M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!" Papyrus said, and even from where Harry stood he could see the skeleton was having second thoughts. It didn't seem like the trap was going to activate, anyways. He just had to wait it out and he'll be able to cross, he supposed.

Silence filled the area as Harry mulled this over.

"that, uh, doesn't look very activated." Sans pointed out again, and Harry bit back laughter at the smug expression on his face. Papyrus seemed to fumble for words, stuttering for a moment before straightening, although the nervous look didn't really dissipate.

"WELL!!! THIS CHALLENGE!!! IT SEEMS... MAYBE... TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH! YEAH! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE!!! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!"

And with a flourish, all of the potentially dangerous stuff vanishes back into... where ever it came from. Harry wasn't too sure. Sans shot Harry a wink, grinning and gesturing to Papyrus. Harry refocused his attention to the tall skeleton, snickering as he noticed him dramatically sighing.

"PHEW!"

Papyrus glanced back, noticing Harry watching him. He looked nervous, but straightened up and appeared to try and look tough. Harry just thought it was a tad adorable and mentally groaned as he felt the urge to just coo over him. _Stupid. Weird. Mothering. **Instincts!**_

"WELL?!? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!! NYEH!! HEH!! HEHEH?!?!"

Harry felt a bit bad for the guy as he watched Papyrus run off. Sans was looking rather satisfied, rather like a cat that got the cream, as the saying goes. Harry carefully made his way to the end of the bridge, startling as he was bodily picked up by Sans at the end.

The skeleton shrugged when Harry looked at him curiously. "thought you could use some rest. you look like shit, princess."

"You're too kind," Harry drowsily snarked. Sans chuckled, and Harry grumbled before pressing his face to Sans' shoulder with a yawn. He smelled like ketchup and dirty socks. It was... oddly comforting. Harry was a bit confused, but yawned again and decided it didn't matter.

There was a comfortable silence as Sans walked along, the steady strides slowly lulling Harry to sleep. Finally, just as Harry was about to fall asleep, Sans spoke. "i don't know what my brother's going to do now. if i were you, i would make sure i understand blue attacks."

Harry let out a tired agreement, eyelids drooping. He could berate himself for falling asleep later, he was tired.

Sans was oddly soft for a skeleton, he mused before he tumbled off into dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly a 'filler' chapter, but it's a necessary thing. A lull in the shitstorm I'm throwing Harry through, anyways. Poor babs deserves it.
> 
> I literally had nothing written of this until Friday and that's only because a commenter accidentally made me realize "oh shit it's friday and I have nothing written and people will be so disappointed because if I don't start writing now I'll never get this chapter done" and oh boy was I *wink* write. (The Sans in me is coming out someone send help.)
> 
> I spent from 10 PM to 2 in the morning just getting the outline for this chapter done on Friday, and then a good six hours actually writing the fleshier bits on Saturday, and Sunday was spent adding details and editing. I'm pretty happy with this chapter. (Though seriously, please get on my back about writing the chapters BEFORE the deadlines I don't even take my own advice and do it days ahead. :P)
> 
> Okay, enough rambles from me! Suggest an idea if you have something you'd like to see included in this fic (such as a pairing/Harry's reaction to something minor) and I'll try my best to include it if I think it'll fit. (Generally I find a way to include stuff.) I love hearing from you guys! You brighten my day. I think by now I'd have quit if I didn't get such lovely comments. Actually, if any of you wants to chat about Undertale/HP/writing/etc., just shoot me a chat message over at scrumptious-nerdy-cupcake on tumblr!
> 
> With that long ass note... I bid thee a wonderful day/night and bow out now!  
> Cheers!  
> -Em


	6. The Plot Thickens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot happens, shenanigans and horrible pick-up lines, as well as the battle against The Great Papyrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! Yo! Look what Fluff made for this fic! It's flipping ADORABLE and I love it. <3 Seriously, go shower them in love.
> 
> http://below-fluff.tumblr.com/post/142290108386/quick-sketch-for-emarye-inspired-by-their-work

_Everything was dark, Harry noted as he peered around him. Shadows coated the area thoroughly, only vague outlines of things (he couldn't really tell what he was looking at) visible. He frowned and slowly moved forward, cautious._

_"Greetings."_

_Harry jumped, head whipping around to look for who spoke. He froze as he saw the two children to his right, one pale with red eyes, short bobbed red brown hair and rosy cheeks who was wearing a green jumper with a single yellow stripe.. The other child was darker in color, eyes squinted shut, slightly messy short black hair and they had a band aid on their nose and were wearing a blue sweater with two magenta stripes. Both didn't seem particularly male or female._

_The silent child smiled and toddled up to him, grabbing onto his leg with a goofy grin. Harry's heart melted and he smoothed a tuft of particularly stuck up hair on the back of their head. They giggled and raised their arms. Harry was reminded of Teddy, and he smiled and picked them up and balanced them on his hip like he would for the blue-haired boy._

_The other child seemed older than the one currently poking at his face, and they slowly walked forward. They outstretched a hand. "My name is Chara. Their name is Frisk."_

_"Hello; I'm Harry. Mind me asking why you're currently in my dreams?" Harry said quietly, raising an eyebrow but shaking the offered hand. Chara smiled bitterly. "You're in the Underground, yes?"_

_"...How did you know that?"_

_"Simple. I used to live there, and Frisk," here they gestured to the silent solemn child that had replaced the happy one on Harry's hip, "has gone through countless RESETS and done the same exact things you're doing. It is, after all, a game. A cruel one at times, but a game. There's a story to follow and even if at times it's different, it's still the same story repeatedly."_

_"Then... you know why I'm there in Frisk's place." Harry murmured, wariness flooding him. How did they know so much?_

_Chara laughed dryly, nodding with a bitter expression. "The game is being played by a particularly curious and cruel player. They've committed genocide and destroyed the game more than thirty times, just to find all of the hidden dialogue and interactions. They've killed only specific monsters to see the others' reactions, and rarely do they lead the monsters to freedom as they seem to think it's 'boring'. They play this game like a harp and we've had enough."_

_Harry did not like where this was going. Genocide? Everyone was murdered over and over? That... that's worse than Voldemort could ever hope to be, and he was pretty bad._

_"We've seen too much suffering. We want a happy ending; for everyone. So, we saved our combined Determination to get someone who would save the monsters and stop the cycle. We got you," Chara finished with a small smile. "Ironic, right? The Savior of the Wizarding World, who even in this world we've heard so called fictional stories of. You actually have your own book series and movie series, you know."_

_"Even in a video game, people know about me and my life. Lovely." Harry grumbled. He blinked as he took in the rest of that statement. "You literally pulled me through time and space to save your world...?"_

_"Yes. Sorry, but not sorry. We didn't really choose who we'd get, we just needed someone powerful enough to not get controlled and peaceful enough to do a Pacifist Run and save the monsters." Chara looked mildly mischievous. "Plus, I think you were getting bored living an easy peasy life with Ginny or whatever her name was."_

_"GINNY!?! Are you bloody serious!?! I'm gay! Ew! No! Blah, that's just- no!" Harry squawked, making a face. Ewww! Why would they EVER pair him with Ginny?!? She's like a sister, he has no interest in her! Frisk giggled, trying to smother their giggles and hide their smile with a hand and Harry mock-glared at them._

_"You think my misfortune is funny, huh kiddo?" Harry grumbled goodnaturedly, placing his free hand on his hip and trying to stifle his smile. They giggled, trying to shake their head without dislodging their hand._

_Harry gasped dramatically, sneaking his free hand towards Frisk while they weren't paying attention. "Frisk, you wound me! What did I ever do to you? Tickle you, maybe?"_

_Frisk squealed as he tickled their ribs, the child squirming and giggling breathlessly as they made a gesture with their hand, and Harry paused in his tickling to look at the kid. "So, are you sorry? Or do I need to," dramatic pause, "tickle you more?"_

_They frantically nodded, making the sign for 'sorry'. Harry chuckled, ruffling the kids hair with a smile. "Alright kiddo, I believe you."_

_Harry turned to look at Chara. They seemed a bit nostalgic, but they quickly looked neutral when they noticed Harry looking at them. "What's going to stop the player from just restarting and forcing me to play again?"_

_Chara looked tired at this. "We send you all back to your universe. It's not a fool proof plan by any means; but, it could work. You'll need a friend's help, anyways. Even with the outrageous amount of magic and determination you have, you'll never be able to pull this off on your own."_

_He bit his lip, considering the other possibilities. None were too pleasant; leaving them behind would only be the opposite of what they wanted, and staying was not an option. Taking the monsters with him would cause some issues, but... it could work out. The monsters would reveal the magical society, but if the ordinary humans attempted to wage war on both monsters and magicals, they would have to deal with both sides. While it wasn't a particularly pleasant thought, Harry thought it was oddly comforting to know he'd have allies. "I... okay. Try to get Hermione? She'll be able to help more than me, I'm just the magical and determination muscle part of this operation. She's the brains."_

_The kid snickered, red eyes lighting up from their previous dull, haunted look. "I'll try. It'll take a while, unless you wouldn't mind me leeching off of you for a bit? Because the player isn't directly involved here, I have free rein as does Frisk."_

_"Leech away," Harry said with a small smile. "Then Hermione can get here faster and we can take care of this quickly. It's not like I use my magic that often now, anyways. It's gone haywire lately since I've gotten here."_

_"That's... not good. I hadn't counted on that," Chara frowned. They sighed, shaking their head. There was a pause before they spoke again, carefully choosing their words as they stared forward into the darkness, eyes following something invisible as if they were reading. "Because you took Frisk's spot and they have no magic, the game doesn't know how to react to the magic you possess and has apparently tried to block it. You can still access it because it's not the strongest block, but it generally will have a 'thorns' affect, if you might have noticed. I don't think it'll effect me leeching, as long as you only occasionally use it. There might be a way to fix this, but for now just let me think on it. The coding... gets confusing around you."_

_Harry frowned but nodded, only to look confused. Wait a minute... "How did you manage to bring me here, anyways?"_

_Chara huffed, looking exasperated. It reminded him of Hermione. "There are multiple universes out there; in yours, the monsters were still sealed underground and there are a few holes into there, but no soft flowers to catch your fall and no friendly monsters to talk to. They died out as in your universe, the monsters were hunted until only a handful remained and those were locked underground. They survived a few generations. As you fell, we managed to snatch you up just in time before you hit the ground."_

_Harry winced, and Frisk frowned at him with sad eyes. '_ Don't be sad. You're gonna fix it! You'll save everybody, I know you will!' _They signed. Harry laughed quietly and smiled softly at the kid. "Yeah, I'll save them. Nobody deserves a life trapped underground."_

_They beamed up at him, nodding. He smiled reassuringly, setting Frisk down as the dark setting they were in started to go foggy. "You gotta go, kiddo?"_

_"We had to save up some more DT to speak with you; it's very... tiring, that. We don't quite have the reserves you do." Chara explained, gesturing to the slowly lightening darkness and their own fading body. "We have to go; remember, don't use magic a ton and I'll be able to leech."_

_Chara sent him a stern look, and he shrugged haphazardly with a sheepish smile. The kid huffed, rolling their eyes._

_Frisk waved, and vanished, but Chara lingered. "Hey; Sans knows more than he lets on, by the way."_

_"I thought as much," Harry responded dryly. Chara laughed and faded away with a wave._

\---------------------------------

Harry snuggled into the warm arms resting around him, a content sigh leaving his lips. He really didn't want to get up. It was warm and his magic was finally sending him content vibes, for once since he had fallen down into the Underground.

Wait a bloody minute.

Who the fuck was he cuddling, if he was in the Underground? (Actually, he would still be alarmed in he was cuddling someone anyways.)

He stiffened and cracked open an eye. _'Well, shit.'_

His mysterious teddy bear was none other than Sans, surprise surprise. The skeleton was passed out, soft snores filling the air. Harry blushed as he took in the position they were in.

Harry was resting his top half on top of Sans, legs wrapped around a bony one, back to the wall, head tucked under Sans' skull and resting on his clavicle, his hands fisting into Sans' rumpled t-shit. The skeleton had his arms placed around Harry's shoulders, keeping him clutched to his chest. Of course, the blankets were long since kicked to the end of the bed in a ball, Harry noticed as he turned his head to see the room they were in.

He stifled a laugh at the drool collecting at the end of Sans' mouth as he snored, instead lightly wiping it off before settling back into his spot. Might as well take a moment to collect his thoughts and relax.

Slowly, Harry's thoughts turned from blissful quiet to his dream. It felt too real to be passed off as a dream... and everything Chara had said matched up. But... it was hard, to grasp the fact that he'd quite literally been thrown through time and space into the Underground. To save the Underground. He was mildly annoyed that they couldn't have asked him first, but he understood. He felt a bit drained, actually, remembering that Chara was leeching off of him. It was odd; like something was tugging at his chest and taking something, but being replenished just as fast.

Slowly, Harry sank back into sleep after he sorted out what he thought of the dream. It was way too early to leave, a wandless Tempus revealed, as it was 4:37 in the morning.

\---------------------------------

"SANS! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI WILL BE DONE SOON AND YOU NEED TO GO TO YOUR JOBS!"

Harry groaned as he was woke up by Papyrus' loud voice. Sans snorted in his sleep, making a rather grumpy noise as he stirred.

"Urrgh..." Harry mumbled, slowly taking stock of where he was. He cracked open an eyelid to peering at the blurry surroundings, and Harry nearly laughed as he realized that during the night they must've switched positions, as Harry was being spooned with Sans clinging to him like a baby koala. Harry wriggled a bit, attempting to free a hand to wipe the crust from his eyes.

"...quit movin', wouldja...?" Sans grunted, and Harry snickered tiredly as the skeleton tugged Harry right back against him and burrowed his skull in the crook of Harry's shoulder. Sans huffed, breath ghosting over Harry's ear and he squirmed again.

Sans made a pitiful noise, and Harry sighed as he allowed Sans to use him as a teddy bear for a few more minutes. There was a comfortable silence before Harry sighed again and tilted his head back to glance to Sans.

The skeleton was dozing, eyelids shut and face relaxed. He made a disgruntled noise and opened an eyelid, white pinprick pupil focusing on him and grin tugging up slightly. "morning, princess."

"Morning." Harry said quietly, raising an eyebrow. Sans rolled his eye, shutting it again and relaxing into a deadweight again. Harry whined, squirming again. He had to do stuff, and if Sans didn't let him go now we would just levitate him or something.

"...We gotta get up soon you know..."

"yup."

"Anytime soon would be appreciated." Harry grumbled, but his yawn was evidence enough he didn't really want to get up. He was cozy, okay? You'd be half asleep too.

"nope."

There was a comfortable silence that was broken by the occasional clanging of dishes somewhere in what he assumed was the skeleton brother's house. "So. Why, exactly, are you using me as a teddy bear?"

"...you're warm." Sans deadpanned, and Harry snorted. "Let's try this question; why am I in bed with you? Please tell me we didn't have sex."

There, that got a reaction. Sans choked on air, his laughter filling the air. "wha-?!? no! geez, shorty, you sure know how to give a guy a wake up call. all that happened was you fell asleep on me and i wouldn't be so cruel as to put you on the couch or in the inn and we don't have a guest bedroom. and you drooled a bit on my shoulder, by the way."

"Hm. Why would the inn be so bad? Not that I'm complaining," Harry added, ignoring the drool comment. Sans huffed, rolling his eyes and finally releasing Harry so he was able to sit up. "somebody who pretty much lives at the inn snores louder than anyone i know; it's not the greatest thing to wake up to."

"...why would you be sleeping at the inn?"

"paps locked me out since i stayed out too long... you could say, it was very boneheaded of me to do that," Sans grumbled. Harry laughed, sitting up and rolling his eyes as Sans promptly plopped his head down on Harry's lap.

Harry allowed it for a moment before poking Sans, the skeleton giving him the stink eye as he opened his eyes. "what now, princess? can't a guy sleep for just five more minutes?"

"You've got jobs to get to, and I've got stuff to do." Harry reminded him. Sans groaned, shoving a bony hand over his face. "cruel, harry, cruel."

Harry huffed, relaxing against the wall and allowing some awareness to filter through his system. Unconsciously, his hands found their way to Sans' skull and were lightly running over the smooth bone.

The peace was broken by footsteps coming towards the door, and Harry startled as the door slammed open. "SANS! SPAG-!"

Harry sheepishly ran a hand through his hair as Papyrus stopped mid-word comically, jaw gaping. The tall skeleton made a gargled noise as his eyes seemed to look between Sans and Harry.

The former was cracking up at the situation, but Harry wasn't as amused. "It's not what it looks like...?"

"nah, we totally had a sleep over, don't deny it princess." Sans chortled, winking. That seemed to kick Papyrus back into gear, as the skeleton straightened up and glared at Sans.

"SANS! WHY WASN'T I INVITED TO THE SLEEP OVER!?!? I WOULD HAVE BROUGHT OVER MY ACTION FIGURES AND MADE SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus whined, stamping his foot. Harry bit back a smile, instead attempting to pacify the unhappy monster. "It was boring; all we did was sleep, promise. We'd never bring such a cool guy into such an uncool sleepover."

Papyrus puffed up, and Harry nearly sighed in relief. "YES, I AM VERY COOL! I UNDERSTAND NOW, HUMAN!"

Sans grinned and finally sat up, stretching and popping his bones as loudly and obnoxiously as possible. Papyrus glared at him from the doorway, hands on his hips. "SANS! YOU NEED TO EXERCISE MORE, YOU POP YOUR BONES WAY TOO MUCH FOR IT TO BE HEALTHY, YOU LAZYBONES!"

"aw shucks, i do a ton of work, paps; a skele-ton." Harry groaned, shoving his face into his hands. "Sans! That was awful! You really need to stop being such a numbskull!"

"NGAAHH!" Papyrus wailed, shaking his fist at Sans and Harry and slamming the door shut before running off. Harry exchanged a look with Sans from behind his hands before they burst out into laughter, and from outside of the room Papyrus could be heard ranting about 'stupid infuriating puns.' All it did was add to their laughter.

\---------------------------------

Finally they managed to stop laughing and leaned against each other, still occasionally laughing before it tampered off. Harry noticed Sans outstretching a blurry hand and they held something- his glasses! Harry sighed in relief as he shoved them onto his face, the clearness much better than the blurriness without. He blinked as he noticed the trash tornado and general mess that was Sans' room, but shrugged it off. He'd lived with four other guys for seven years while they were teenagers, this was almost tame in comparison. "heh, good old paps. we should go down before he breaks down the door again."

"I've been telling you that since we woke up," Harry snarked dryly. Sans shrugged in an over-dramatic way, merely grinning wider. "did you? it went right through me!"

Harry reached for a pillow and shoved his face into it with a muffled screech. Done with that, he lifted his face from it to glare at Sans. The skeleton chuckled, eyes bright. "you okay shorty? you seem a bit-"

"Sans do it and I'll silence you."

"-like you're-"

"Sans I am not joking don't do it."

"-blanketing your feelings!" Harry hissed out a curse and fumbled for his wand, picking up the smooth wood and promptly Silencio'ing Sans despite the harsh shock he received in return. His laughter abruptly cut off and Sans froze to look at Harry with a bewildered expression.

He wagged a finger at Sans, a satisfied expression on his face as he flopped back down. "Ah, blessed silence. No more horrible puns before I've eaten. Just nice, lovely, silence."

Sans made a rude gesture, sweat trickling down his skull (how even? Nevermind, nope, not even going to ask.) He seemed a bit shaky before he brightened and promptly crawled over to Harry and what even was he-?!

"SANS! N-NO, BAD SKELETON!" Harry yelped, squirming away from the fingers tickling away methodically. Sans paused and Harry took the opportunity to wheeze in a few breaths, wiping away the tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. The skeleton gestured at his neck, and Harry raised an eyebrow as he realized what he wanted. "And what'll I get if I do?"

His skeletal companion merely grinned wider, and Harry groaned before undoing the spell. Immediately, Sans poked at his neck and looked at Harry with an unreadable expression. Slowly, the consequences of what'd he done- he'd actually Silencio'd Sans, he couldn't really believe he'd done it- trickled in.

"so, i gotta ask..." Sans said finally, and Harry flinched as he noticed that Sans' pupils were gone and instead his eyes were two empty black holes. "...are you a wizard, 'cause you just magicked my breath away!"

Harry gave a startled laugh, and Sans grinned with a smug look on his face. The arse probably just planned this, didn't he? "That was way too cheesy; you could do so much better!"

"eh, sure, if you think so, why don't you give it a whirl, princess?" Sans scoffed, flopping back with his hands behind his head and weird skeleton eyebrows waggling.

The wizard rolled his eyes, but nodded. Sans gave a chuckle and rolled his skull in a 'go on then' gesture. There was a pause before Harry smirked and looked at Sans, who seemed a bit less relaxed and confident at the look.

Harry lean back, resting his weight on an elbow. "Hey, Sans, I've already got one skeleton in me... wanna make it another?"

To make it more saucy, Harry winked.

Sans lost his shit at that. The skeleton howled with laughter, big fat blue tears of laughter spilling from his sockets as he wheezed for breath. "o-oh man... good one, princess, good one... another skeleton... hahah...!"

Harry shook his head in amusement as Sans continued to laugh, stretching and allowing Sans to laugh it out. He wound down after a few minutes and Harry snorted as Sans flopped down again, scooting off of the bed and standing up with a yawn. "Welp, I'm getting up, lazybones. Stuff to do, people to befriend, you know, that kind of stuff."

The skeleton raised a bony eyebrow but nodded, and Harry squeaked as he was suddenly frozen in place right as he went to open the door. "hey, wait a moment. didn't i promise you food? and also i mentioned getting you a better jacket..."

"You just want an excuse to keep me around, don't you." Harry deadpanned. It wasn't even a question anymore, really.

"exactly." Sans agreed cheerfully, and with a quick flick of his wrist Harry was deposited on Sans' bed again. His skeletal companion cheerfully hummed and shuffled towards the beat up dresser in the opposite corner of the room, drawers groaning on their tracks as Sans tugged one open. Harry winced as the sound grated on his eardrums. Sans should really get that fixed.

There was a pause where Harry attempted to wriggle away from the odd sensation of the unfamiliar but not magic holding him in place, feeling heavier than usual. Sans snorted and with a quick snap of his fingers the magic holding him in place vanished and Harry felt like a weight had been lifted from his entire body.

Something was tossed at Harry, and he caught it more on reflex than anything else. He blinked as he looked at the article of clothing.

It was... nothing that he'd expect from Sans. The jacket was more of a trench coat than anything else, and surprisingly warmth radiated from it. Harry felt warm just looking at it. The outside was made of leather, and it felt pleasantly worn and buttery. The inside was softer, warmer. He wondered what it was; it was the warmth of wool with the softness of velvet and the texture of silk all at once. It was dizzying but... comforting.

Sans avoided his eyes as he nodded at Harry, and the wizard tore his eyes from the jacket to look at Sans. "Thanks, Sans. I... thanks."

"it's nothing." It didn't sound or look like nothing, though. Harry wanted to protest that yes this was big, he'd just given a total stranger something that obviously meant something to him, but refrained. He knew how it could be, sometimes. Sometimes it was best to just listen and not press.

Harry swallowed, nodding, before he tried to put on a small smile. (And no, he wasn't blushing in the slightest, not a bit!) "So... what was that about food?"

"paps made spaghetti, if you want any." Sans offered, gesturing towards the door with a shrug. Harry blinked and shrugged. Eh, sure. He could go for some spaghetti, he supposed. Something niggled in the back of his mind; he felt like he forgot something important to consider, but Harry mentally shoved that thought back and picked up the stuff he was going to take with him.

Shoes, check, ratty old jacket? Eh, now that he had a new one, he wasn't too sure what to do with it. Harry set it aside. Wand and holster? Check. Harry narrowed his eyes at his meager belongings he carried on his person. He should get a backpack sometime soon so he could carry some mementos and the like. He did, at one point, have a backpack with him, but he'd left it at his temporary camp site as he went exploring. He hadn't even planned to stay out that long, really, so it made no sense to take it with him. He regretted it a bit, though.

Finally, done gathering his stuff and placing them onto his person like he needed (shoes on his feet, wand holster strapped in place, new jacket on), Harry looked at the old jacket and sighed. "Got any ideas what to do with this thing?"

Sans shrugged, leaning against the doorway with a yawn. He'd put on his usual slippers and jacket while Harry was getting his stuff together. "no idea. just throw it out, or something. it's probably too thin to be much use here, anyways."

Harry nodded and sighed, quickly Vanishing the jacket and wincing as his magic rebelled a bit and stung him again. He really wished there was a way to make that stop.

Done with everything he needed, Harry walked after Sans as the skeleton led the way out of his room. As soon as they left, the door clicked in a telltale lock and rainbow colored smoke came out from under the door. Harry shot a mildly amused look at Sans, who grinned and put a finger to his teeth in a 'shhh' gesture.

"BROTHER! HUMAN! I HAVE PREPARED BREAKFAST FOR YOU TO FEAST UPON!" Papyrus announced as soon as he spotted them, and Harry raised an eyebrow as he noticed the skeleton suddenly look stern. It was an odd look on the skeleton. "NO, THIS DOES NOT MEAN I WILL NOT CAPTURE YOU, HUMAN. BUT RIGHT NOW YOU'RE SANS' GUEST AND IT'D BE RUDE TO TRY TO CAPTURE YOU NOW! COMPLETELY AGAINST BASIC ETIQUETTE! NO, IT SIMPLY WOULDN'T DO!"

Harry nodded, and followed Sans down the stairs. "Thanks, Papyrus. That's nice of you."

Papyrus brightened up, grin getting impossibly wider. Harry shoved down the instinct to hug the tall skeleton and put him in a giant bubble. "YOU'RE VERY WELCOME, HUMAN!"

With that, Papyrus dashed into another room and Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly before trodding after him. How was he so energetic all the time? It had to be exhausting.

Sans was spooning some spaghetti (which was... sparkling? And looked really weird because the sauce was chunkier than Crookshanks' wet cat food? And the noodles themselves were slightly crunched up and oddly burnt?) into a bowl when Harry shuffled into the kitchen, and Harry blinked as said bowl (which had little bones decorating the rim) was shoved at him with a fork. "bone appetite."

Papyrus whined, stamping his foot indignantly. "SANS! CAN'T YOU EVER DO SOMETHING WITHOUT INVOLVING A PUN?!"

"nope. sorry, bro'." Sans didn't look an inch sorry. If anything, he looked smugger than the cat that caught the canary.

The taller skeleton grumbled and shooed Harry out into the living room to sit on their giant green sofa, and he nearly snickered when he heard the obvious jangling of something inside the couch. Springs poked into his back, and he was grateful that he didn't have to sleep on this. It would have probably been highly unpleasant.

He glanced around the room, and blinked as he noticed a few things. Such as the rock by the door on a paper plate that had... rainbow sprinkles on it. By the kitchen doorway, there was a dirty sock with a bunch of notes on it. Harry rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the spaghetti. It had a copious amount of glitter on it, and Harry raised an eyebrow at that. Why even...?

"what's up, shorty?" Sans asked as he sauntered into the room, plopping down beside him on the couch with a bowl of spaghetti in hand. He was cheerfully slurping down the spaghetti, and Harry tried not to cringe.

"The ceiling," Harry replied dryly. Sans seemed startled before he laughed, relaxing. Harry took pride in the relaxed stance his wisecrack had created. Sans seemed to be pretty on edge most of the time. "i really walked right into that one, didn't i?"

"Yes, yes you did." Harry huffed, cautiously poking at the spaghetti in his bowl with his fork. Sans chuckled and pulled out a familiar looking condiment packet. Harry watched in fascinated horror as Sans tore it open and dumped the ketchup on the spaghetti, then proceeded to eat it. All of it.

At this point, Papyrus could be heard cleaning up the kitchen and Harry sighed before offering Sans his spaghetti. The skeleton tried to hide his wide grin, but failed miserably. Harry quickly transferred the spaghetti into Sans' bowl, barely holding back his gag as ketchup was dumped onto the spaghetti... and then the spaghetti was pretty much inhaled from there.

Papyrus came out of the kitchen, and the skeleton looked pleased when he saw Harry's scraped clean bowl. Harry wondered if he could get away with not saying nothing, but at the skeleton's hopeful look, Harry quickly smiled. "You did pretty great on the spaghetti, thank you."

There was a muffled snort from beside him but Sans made a noise in agreement. "yeah bro', this is pretty great. i almost want to stop lasagna couch and give you a big ol' hug."

Harry bit back a laugh and lightly whacked Sans on his skull. "Sans, stop aggravating Papyrus; what'd he ever do to you?"

"ah, shucks, you sure know how to make a guy feel bad to the bone." Sans snarked, and Harry tried his best not to smile so the already getting annoyed monster behind him wouldn't flip out completely. "Sans. Knock it off."

"hm? knock what off? sorry, no idea what you're hammering on about."

Harry groaned and picked up a pillow to whack against Sans' skull. Papyrus had long since let out a pained noise and tore back upstairs and into a room, so it was just them for a while.

Sans dodged, grinning widely at Harry. Bloody arse.

"Saans. I'm going out; you gonna come with me or stay here?" Harry finally grumbled, releasing the pillow and standing up. The skeleton raised an eyebrow but flopped back onto the couch,placing his legs onto the seat. "i'm gonna just lounge here and be a lazy bones for a bit. i'll probably see you later, princess."

Harry rolled his eyes, waving as he headed towards the door. As he opened the door, Sans spoke up again. "hey, you might wanna head to the shop before anything else. if nothing, the shopkeep's got some pretty good equipment you'll want."

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind." Harry tossed over his shoulder, sending a quick smile over his shoulder before he stepped out into the snow.

\---------------------------------

Snowdin was an interesting place, Harry noted.

Most of the monsters living here were furry, due to the cold temperature, but Harry noticed a few that were not and instead were bundled up in warm clothing. It was decorated for Christmas, although a bear monster had explained that the way their holiday had come about was the fact that a Gryfttrot had been decorated by some teens and the town had put out some presents for it to make it feel better. It was kinda sweet.

Harry glanced around the area as he walked on, and he nearly groaned at the sight of a SAVE point. He kept quiet, however, and as casually as possible walked up to the SAVE point.

"The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination. HP fully restored."

Harry bit back a smile and glanced towards the shop Sans had mentioned. It looked like as good a place to start getting to know the locals as any, really.

He walked up to the door, the bell tinkling as he pulled it open. A rabbit monster glanced up from where she was stacking a few items onto shelves. "Hello, traveler. How can I help you?"

"Just browsing, for now. A friend suggested to come check out this place." Harry said distractedly as he peered around the shop. Pastry goods in the shape of small bunnies were in glass cases, and in the back was some groceries. He blinked as he noticed the bandana with abs drawn on it. There was also a little freezer with popsicles that had two prongs called Bicicles.

Carefully, Harry peered at his money amount menu that had popped up as he browsed. He currently had 137G, and if he spent 50G on the bandana (which was a defense item, he noticed from the popup menu), and then 30G on two Bicicles, and 25G on a cinnamon bunny, then he'd have 32G remaining. Enough, anyways.

Nodding to himself, Harry collected the items and walked up the counter. The shopkeep seemed startled at the amount of things he was carrying, but didn't comment on it. "Hello."

"Hiya! Welcome to Snowdin! I can't remember the last time I saw a fresh face around here. Where did you come from? The capital? You don't look like a tourist. Are you here by yourself?" Harry blinked at the practical word vomit being tossed at him. This lady could give Hermione a run for her money, really.

The rabbit seemed expectant as they made the transaction, and Harry ran a hand through his hair nervously. Carefully, Harry only answered the last question. "Yeah, but a friend of mine will be on her way here soon enough."

The shopkeep just nodded and finished bagging his purchases. Harry paused and voiced a quick question. "Is there anything to do around here?"

Oh dear. This might've been a mistake. "You want to know what to do here in Snowdin? Grillby's has food, and the library has information... if you're tired, you can take a nap at the inn. It's right next door- my sister runs it. And if you're bored, you can sit outside and watch those whacky skeletons do their thing."

Now this was interesting. Harry perked up, and the monster, seeing she had a captive audience, continued to speak with gusto.

"There's two of 'em... brothers, I think. They just showed up one day and... asserted themselves. The town has gotten a lot more interesting since then." Aw. He had hoped that she had more information, but apparently not.

"Mind if I ask about the town's history?" He was genuinely curious; at the very least, he'd have an interesting story to tell Teddy or Hermione.

"Not at all! Think back to your history class... a long time ago, monsters lived in the Ruins back there in the forest. Long story short, we all decided to leave the ruins and head for the end of the caverns. Along the way, some fuzzy folk decided they liked the cold and set up camp in Snowdin." That was... slightly anticlimactic. The shopkeep narrowed her eyes at Harry, and he felt a bit of a sweat break out at the stare. "Don't even think about trying to explore the ruins... the door's been locked for ages. So unless you're a ghost or can burrow under the door, forget about it."

"Message received," Harry snickered nervously. The shopkeep dropped her stern look and Harry felt a wave of relief when that look was gone. It was unnerving. Harry started to leave, but quickly looked back at the monster. "How's life going, by the way?"

She smiled a bit bitterly. "Life is the same as usual... a little claustrophobic... but... we all know deep down that freedom is coming, don't we? As long as we got that hope, we can grit our teeth and face the same struggles, day after day... that's life, ain't it?"

"That's life," Harry murmured in agreement. The rabbit smiled in a more of a forced way, and her voice was tight as Harry opened the door to leave. "Bye now! Come again sometime!"

\---------------------------------

He had considered going to Grillby's, but... well... something told him to hold off, for now. Instead, Harry made do with nibbling on his Cinnamon Bunny to appease his stomach. It was pleasantly sweet, and he almost wished he had another one. He'd already placed the bandana around his neck, and it went surprisingly well with Harry's jacket. He didn't really care, but it was noteworthy as normally his outfits clashed horribly if he picked them out.

Harry blinked up at the foggy pathway, squinting up at the path. It was barely visible, and Harry felt a bit wary of moving on, but he had to keep moving. He kept his wand out, just in case, however.

There were some quick footsteps in front of him, and Harry froze in place and squinted at where the sound had come from. The fog obscured most of the figure, but Harry was mildly relieved at the silhouette of Papyrus. At least it was someone who was unlikely to kill him, anyways. Unintentionally cause his death... maybe? Harry was pretty sure Papyrus had no idea that he would have to die so the monsters could use his soul to break the barrier.

There was a pause before the skeleton spoke. "HUMAN! ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS!"

This... was going to be interesting. Harry tilted his head, eyebrows raised and nearly itching to hear what Papyrus was going to say.

"FEELINGS LIKE... THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION OF ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS..."

Harry furrowed his eyebrow in confusion at Papyrus' words. Huh? Was he talking about how he felt about Harry?

"THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELINGS RIGHT NOW!!!" Harry shoved a hand over his mouth to smother his laughter. He did not expect that, but it was perfectly comical and he felt little to no offense over it. Could he even get mad at Papyrus? Probably not. Stupid weird mothering instincts.

"I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU... LONELY HUMAN... WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR..."

Papyrus trailed off, and Harry felt a prickle of unease crawl through his system. Oh dear. He had a feeling he was not going to enjoy what comes next.

"...NO... NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!!!" And, there we go. The ball has dropped. Harry just wished he didn't feel so crushed about it. Heh. Crushed... he'd genuinely wished to be friends with Papyrus. He took in a steadying breath, attempting to calm his suddenly frazzled mind.

Why was someone not wanting to be friends with him so hard to grasp? He'd had no problem with being enemies with Voldemort... or Umbridge... or...

...well, there's the issue. His enemies were always the 'bad' guys; he had no idea what to do now that a 'good' guy did not want to be his friend. Was it bad that he was taking this so badly...? Probably. It was probably pretty bad. Harry shook his head, shoving those thoughts into an iron chest in the middle of his mind, locking it, and tossing it into metaphorical lava. No need to dwell on those thoughts. Bad Harry. He had a situation at hand to deal with and he had to get all... musing-y.

"YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT'S PAPYRUS!!! THE NEWEST MEMBER... OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" Papyrus looked nervous and had a thin bead of sweat dripping on the side of his skull. He didn't look to sure of what was about to happen.

Harry's eye twitched as he looked at the fight menu.

**"Papyrus blocks the way!"**

He felt a migraine coming on. With a long-suffering sigh and grumblings about stupid video game logic, Harry opened the **ACT** menu. He blinked once. Twice.

"O-kayyy... welp, I'm good." Harry mumbled as he backed out of the menu, rubbing his eyes. Nope, he'd rather not flirt. Nope. He'd enjoy trading pick up lines with Sans any time (and he'd never thought he'd ever admit that, even to himself), but Papyrus was a bit too innocent for all of the 'lines he knew.

And, he's about 99% sure Sans would kill him if he told even one word of a dirty pick up line to his innocent baby brother.

Instead, Harry selected **SPARE**. It seemed to be the safest bet, anyways. Papyrus frowned at him, and he seemed to waver a bit. "SO YOU WONT FIGHT... THEN, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!'"

The first attack... was easier than falling asleep. He didn't expect the attack to continue, and Harry startled when his soul turned blue and was dragged to the bottom of the bullet board. A tiny bone came out of nowhere and whammed into his pixellated, now blue, heart. It stung a bit, but he was a bit more concerned about how to handle this. He furrowed his eyebrows, not too certain what to make of this twist. Papyrus seemed genuinely excited, although still hesitant.

Harry grinned and waved off the bright red scratch on his cheek, and Papyrus seemed to relax a bit. His smile widened and his eyes sparkled a bit more, his pose less stiff. Harry wanted to puff up a bit at the look. He was glad Papyrus had loosened up a bit. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW! THAT'S MY ATTACK! NYEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!"

The lanky skeleton seemed to practically glow with excitement now, and Harry laughed at the flavor text. **"You're blue now."**

"Behold!" Papyrus declared as Harry choose **SPARE** again, and this time Harry was a bit worried. While the first attack had been easy, he had a niggling feeling that it'd only get harder.

He was right.

"Ffff-" Harry cut himself off, eyes widening as he realized exactly what he was about to say. Uh, no, bad. He was not going to swear around Sans' innocent baby brother. Partly because Sans would murder him, but also because he would implode if he swore near Papyrus. "-fffun times..!!!"

Papyrus looked suspicious. Harry didn't blame him. He'd be suspicious too.

"I WONDER HOW HIGH YOU CAN JUMP?" He grumbled, eyeing up Harry with narrowed sockets. Harry sweated a bit. Oh dear. _'Please, please, just don't dwell on that'_ , Harry prayed to whatever deity was out there in his mind. He did not want Papyrus to know how to swear. It'd be weird.

"No idea, maybe we should find out?" Harry said as lightly as possible as he **SPARE** 'd Papyrus again. Papyrus cackled and Harry tried his best to show he would be fine by as flippantly as possible dodging the attacks. Even when he got hit again, Harry withhold the telltale grimace of pain at the new injury and instead focused on keeping his smile. At the very least, he could try to cause Papyrus as little guilt for this as possible.

"I CAN ALMOST FEEL MY FUTURE POPULARITY!"

Harry wondered why Papyrus actually wanted to popular. Actually, he wondered why he thought he wasn't popular. He was so nice; surely somebody liked him?

"PAPYRUS: HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

Harry panted and paused for a moment, raising his eyebrows to look at Papyrus. The skeleton squirmed under his gaze, and Harry obligingly straightened up and **SPARE** 'd Papyrus. Why was Papyrus so focused on the Royal Guard? It was good to have ambition, but... it wasn't everything.

"PAPYRUS: UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE!!"

"Aren't you already an unparalleled spaghettore?" Harry queried as he dodged Papyrus' attacks again. He was a pretty hard boss, Harry had to give him that, he internally huffed as he was hit again and his cheek was sliced open by an invisible knife. He hissed out a breath, hand fumbling up and pressing onto the slice. It was bleeding, not too badly, but he probably looked like shit. His health was getting pretty low... Harry took a moment to quickly eat the Monster Candy he'd picked up from the Ruins, the candy quickly boosting his health.

Papyrus looked relieved when the cut stopped bleeding and some of the minor injuries were alleviated. Harry felt bad for Papyrus. He clearly didn't want to do this.

"UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!"

Really, he wanted to meet this Undyne person. A bunch of the monsters had mentioned her, and she seemed important to Papyrus. He hoped they could get along, anyways.

"THE KING WILL TRIM A HEDGE IN THE SHAPE OF MY SMILE!" Papyrus gushed, eyes sparkling. Harry snickered, flashing Papyrus a smile. "That'd be something; I think I'd like to see that."

Papyrus beamed at him before sending in the next volley of attacks, and Harry managed to dodge them all this time. At least he had his invincibility frames if he got hit, anyways.

"MY BROTHER WILL... WELL, HE WONT CHANGE VERY MUCH."

"No, I don't suppose Sans would change much," Harry commented. Papyrus looked disgruntled about that, if the faint grinding motion of his teeth was any indicator. Harry stifled a laugh and SPARE'd Papyrus again. This was... interesting. He wished Papyrus didn't feel like he needed all of this to be happy. He had Sans and most of the monsters in Snowdin already knew him, even if it was as a 'whacky skeleton'. That's cool. Harry went through a few years as being labeled insane, and see? He's fine! ...Okay, maybe he's not. But that's fine too.

"I'LL HAVE LOTS OF ADMIRERS! BUT..."

This volley of attacks wasn't very fun. His health was still okay, but he still fretted for a moment. The injuries he got were mildly annoying. Eyebrows furrowing, Harry chose SPARE again. He wondered what the skeleton was going to say.

"HOW WILL I KNOW IF PEOPLE SINCERELY LIKE ME???"

Harry resisted the urge to hug Papyrus. He wished that he would stop giving him that look. You know the one; the one that says 'please just give up and let me win'. Okay, that's a hard look to know on sight. But... that's exactly the look Harry was being given. He chose **SPARE** again.

"SOMEONE LIKE YOU IS REALLY RARE."

"Nah, I'm just your average guy," Harry tried to joke. The skeleton didn't seem amused and was giving him a thoughtful look. He sighed, and Harry pressed the SPARE option again.

"I DON'T THINK THEY'LL LET YOU GO." Papyrus said quietly, in a less boisterous voice. The wizard swallowed at that.

"Oh no, c'mon, don't think like that..." Even if it was true, Papyrus didn't need to know that. Harry didn't think Papyrus would actually condone Harry being killed, and he'd much rather he feel as guilt free as possible.

"AFTER YOUR CAPTURED AND SENT AWAY..."

Papyrus stamped his foot, and Harry felt a wave of relief at the change in demeanor. He didn't really know how to deal with thoughtful, guilty Papyrus. It was unsettling."URGH! WHO CARES! GIVE UP!"

"GIVE UP OR FACE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Harry wiped the sweat gathering at his temple, wincing at the blood from the cuts he was accumulating. He probably looked like he'd been put through a shredder. He selected SPARE again.

"YEAH! VERY SOON!" Harry thought he heard a waver in Papyrus' voice.

"NOT TOO LONG, AND I WILL USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Papyrus was looking increasingly despaired. Harry felt a bit bad, but pressed on and continued to select **SPARE**. "THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"

"BEHOLD! MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Harry stifled a laugh as he looked at the bullet board. The small white dog was back and chewing away at a bone. Papyrus looked absolutely pissed. He probably knew the dog, Harry mulled. After all, he had strapped it to a rope to threaten Harry with.

"WHAT THE HECK! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK! HEY! YOU STUPID DOG! DO YOU HEAR ME?!? STOP MUNCHING ON THAT BONE!"

The dog looked up guiltily, and slowly started moving backwards. Papyrus' eyes narrowed and he shook his fist at the dog. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! COME BACK HERE WITH MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!"

Of course, the dog didn't reply and instead remained out of the bullet board. Papyrus sighed, and Harry felt a bit bad for the guy. He's personally never had a dog steal his special attack before, but he supposed it was for the best.

Papyrus sighed, pinching the space where his nose would be. "HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK."

Harry barely had to time to take in that statement before bones started popping up along the bullet board. He yelped as his heart was stabbed again by a bone that took him by surprise, and quickly used his invincibility frames to get to a safer area of the bullet board, ignoring the stinging welt across his left eye and lip.

Papyrus was looking increasingly tired throughout the attack.

Harry blinked as he saw a wave of bones spelling out 'COOL DUDE' come by, and the Annoying Dog come by still chewing away the bone it had swiped from Papyrus.

"Oh come on...!" Harry gaped as he looked at the wall of bone coming at him. There was no way he was going to make this...!

He tried, anyways. And... continued being dragged upwards, pretty much breaking the video game logic he was trapped in. But... wait a minute... he felt... lighter?

The first clue was the feeling of being lighter and lifted. The second was his magic pressing towards the familiar magic keeping him afloat. The third was the faint blue aura he had, until he touched back down after a particularity large bone passed by.

As soon as the danger had passed, everything went back to normal.

Harry had an idea of who exactly had helped him out.

After the large bone came a slow moving, tiny, easy to jump bone. Harry felt a bit bad for Papyrus, who looked exhausted and had a sheen of sweat on his skull.

"WELL...!" He huffed. "IT'S CLEAR... YOU CAN'T!" Huff. "DEFEAT ME! YEAH! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS!!! THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY!!! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMAN! NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY!"

Harry suddenly felt like his skull was being split open.

He grabbed onto his hair, hissing in pain as images flashed across his mind. _Papyrus, arms open even though he was terrified. A slash of a knife across bone and Papyrus stating, even as he disintegrated into dust, that he believed in his murderer, that he believed they could be a better person. Stepping over the remaining clothing and dust, not even sparing it a sideways glance._

"HUMAN? ARE YOU OKAY?" Papyrus' worried voice broke over his thoughts, and Harry quickly pasted on a smile despite his panic. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit of a head rush. Can't believe such a cool guy would be willing to spare me."

The skeleton didn't look to convinced, but nodded reluctantly anyways. Harry shakily chose **SPARE** , the images still flashing across his mind. What... what was that?!?

Harry shook his head and focused again. He'd panic later. Currently, Papyrus was looking pretty downtrodden. Harry hated that look. He wished Papyrus was happy instead.

"NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS YOU... UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD. MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

The wizard clucked his tongue, walking forward with open arms and hugging the skeleton. Papyrus seemed startled, but hugged back regardless. "HUMAN, I DO NOT NEED A HUG... BUT THANK YOU."

"No problem. I'll be your friend, if you want. I'd be honored to have such a cool, smart dude as my friend." Harry offered, tilting his head back to peer up at Papyrus. He brightened, his grin tilting right back up.

"REALLY!? YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH ME??? WELL THEN... I GUESS... I GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU!" Papyrus gushed, and Harry beamed up at Papyrus. There we go, there's the Papyrus he knew.

"WOWIE! I HAVE FRIENDS!!! AND WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO MAKE THEM... WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE HORRIBLE PUZZLES AND FIGHT THEM??" Harry chuckled, patting Papyrus on the back. The skeleton pretty much puffed out his chest at the silent praise. "Nobody, I think. I would have been friends with you anyways, Papyrus. I'm glad we don't have to fight."

"ME TOO, HUMAN. NEVERTHELESS, YOU TAUGHT ME A LOT, HUMAN. I HEREBY GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH! AND I'LL EVEN GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE. CONTINUE FORWARD UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN, WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER. THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT... EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL... LIKE YOU!!! THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO AQUIRE A HUMAN! HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!" Papyrus explained. Harry nodded, biting his lip. He felt like there was going to be a catch.

"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU..." Yep. There's a catch. "...TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS... THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS... HE IS... A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!"

Harry was startled in laughter at that. Encouraged, Papyrus began to speak again. "EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY! I'M CERTAIN, IF YOU JUST SAID, 'MR. DREEMURR... CAN I PLEASE GO HOME?' HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF! ANYWAYS! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING! I'LL BE AT HOME, BEING A COOL FRIEND!!! FEEL FREE TO COME BY AND HANG OUT!!! NYEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!"

With that, Papyrus skipped- literally skipped- away, back towards Snowdin.

Harry had a good laugh at the ridiculousness before he started back towards Snowdin. He might as well talk to Papyrus and confront Sans again about the whole being levitated thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the feels and angst and plot have caught up to us by now, if you can tell.
> 
> So, my birthday is on the 16th (Saturday) and I'm tempted make a one-shot for you guys. Would you guys mind in sending in some prompts? I'll do most pairings, but I draw the line at Sans/Frisk, Papyrus/Frisk, Sans/Toriel, Any Character/Reader. Seriously. No. Suggest literally anything but those pairings. I personally don't like them, but I know some of you do enjoy these pairing so I'll keep my trap shut and just leave it at I don't like those pairings.
> 
> *cough* Anyways, I also am curious... I've been listening to "Kiss with a Fist" by Florence and the Machines and it reminds me of a few pairings, so I've been wondering... any songs you've heard that remind you of Harry and Sans' relationship so far? I really would like to know how you perceive their relationship currently or how you see it going via song. Send me da tunes! I love my current playlist, but I'm memorized everything and need some new tunes. ^-^
> 
> I apologize, by the way, if the ending seemed rushed. I wrote it within an hour as soon as I woke up. Heheh... I really need to stop procrastinating... ^^"
> 
> If you have a prompt/want to make sure I'm actually doing my job and writing (or scold me if I'm not and you see a ton of 'dammit must finish chapter but lazy' posts)/or chat, you can find me at scrumptious-nerdy-cupcake.tumblr.com
> 
> Cheers! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em


	7. A Domestic Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans reflects, Harry gets a furry friend, and general domestic fluff before I unleash the angst.

Now, if there was one thing that was odd about this reset...

...you wouldn't be able to list just one. Maybe a catalyst, but not one odd thing. There were too many to count; the dialogue changes, the different situations, and most importantly... Frisk was gone, and in the kids place was another human.

Sans sighed, rubbing a hand over his skull tiredly as he poured over the sheet of paper. None of this made sense. It was like a rip in time and space was created before Harry was dragged through, and his machine tended to try and fry itself when attempting to scan him.

The skeleton had a lot of thoughts on Harry.

Harry was pretty compassionate. Even when he was attacked, he tended to stick to the defensive with almost inhumane reflexes, and talked down all of his foes from attacking him. He made friends almost effortlessly, and he hadn't dusted a single monster.

Harry was sassier than Mettaton on a bad day. He was deadpan most of the time, and he was sarcastic. But it was fun, and he wasn't quite hurtful with his words. It was like he knew exactly how much words could hurt. Somehow, Sans wouldn't be surprised if the wizard knew just how much words could hurt from experience.

There was the whole 'wizard' thing, as well. While most monsters would feel some form of hate towards Harry, Sans only felt intrugied. It explained a lot, but not much. The flinching when something odd happened was probably bad, but Sans kept quiet and was content to observe for now.

All in all...? Sans was, for once, feeling...

...dare he say it?

Oh, fuck it. He was feeling hopeful that this was the last reset and they'd have a happy ending. It was stupid, but he was hopeful. He hadn't felt so hopeful in such a long time...

\---------------------------------

It was snowing, again.

The wizard shuddered and continued to trudge back towards the small town, a frown pulling at his face at the thought of more snow. Blah. He was not going to have a good time walking through more snow; it just got you soaking wet and cold and just no.

Harry blinked in surprise as a small white dog appeared next to him, barking loudly as it pranced around him.

He paused and tilted his head back at the dog. The dog tilted its head right back. Harry chuckled, scooping up the small dog. It made a small yipping noise, tongue lolling out of its mouth and tiny tail wagging.

"Hey, buddy. Didn't you steal Paps' attack?" He queried, not feeling the least bit silly as he examined it for a collar. The dog sneezed on him in reply, letting out a single bark and tail wagging impossibly faster.

Harry snickered, quickly wiping off his face and taking a moment to clean his glasses. The dog had no collar, but looked reasonably well cared for. He wondered who it belonged to.

The dog, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly whined and butted its muzzle against his cheek before slurping a sloppy lick against it. Harry raised an eyebrow, and the dog merely flopped against his chest with a sigh after a long look.

The wizard shook his head, careful not to jostle the dog as he started moving again. He'd ask around Snowdin and see if he, Harry noted as he glanced down, belonged to someone there. He'd think the dog would belong to Papyrus, but from how they interacted, he doubted it.

For now, Harry tucked the dog into his jacket so it was pressed against his jacket and chest. Wouldn't want the poor thing to freeze, anyways.

\---------------------------------

"ey, shorty." Sans appeared out of nowhere, and Harry jumped as he looked at Sans. The skeleton chuckled, and Harry got the impression that he was relishing this.

"C'mon, Sans, stop jumping out at me. It's twice you've done that!" Harry complained, shakily breathing out a breath. Damn, one of these days Harry was going to accidentally hex Sans next time he does that. And wouldn't the stupid demonic flower be happy if he accidentally dusted Sans?

The dog, which had been quietly snoozing against Harry's chest, chose that moment to wake up with a loud yawn. Harry snickered at the confused look on Sans' face. While the dog was sleeping, it was easily hidden by the coat and Sans apparently hadn't noticed the dog.

"I found a dog- well, this dog found me. Know who this little guy belongs to?" Harry explained as the dog poked his head out of Harry's jacket, yapping at the skeleton.

The skeleton shook his head, a thoughtful look on his face. "nah, but i've seen this little guy around. he likes messing with pappy, anyways. once, the little rascal stole papyrus' lasagna when he tried to learn how to make it. thinking on it, i've pretty sure he also took a few attacks while he was at it."

"Heh, sorry?"

"nah, it's nothing. though, pappers still wont make lasanga, saying the dog would come back to steal it... though, if you're taking the pest with you, then i think he could be convinced to try and make it again. maybe it'll go better than most of his tries at spaghetti do." Sans said with a shrug and grin. The dog barked, tongue lolling out of his mouth and a small grin curling the corners of his mouth, if it was even possible.

"Does he got a name?" Harry questioned. The skeleton shrugged.

"no idea. most people just call him the annoying dog."

Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes as he mulled over what to call his new furry companion. He needed something good; a simple 'Fang' or 'Fluffy' won't do. 'Rex' would be silly, and so would most of the dog names he knew... Harry stole a glance at the dog, who had started staring at him with bright eyes. There was something unreadable in them, which was odd as he was a dog and they were pretty expressive.

'Toby,' Harry finally decided. If the dog looked a bit satisfied before returning to peering around them with wide-eyed curiousity, Harry didn't mention it.

The two stayed quiet as they finished walking into Snowdin. Harry paused before heading towards the SAVE and the shop. He should get some supplies for his new furry friend, anyways. Sans didn't question it and followed with him, the dog peering around from the collar of Harry's jacket.

It was getting more towards the evening (apparently, the fight with Papyrus had lasted longer than he thought), so there weren't as many monsters about. Luckily, the shop was still open.

The shopkeeper looked up at the cheerful jangle of the bell, smiling when she spotted Harry. "Hiya! So, you met the skeletons, huh? And who's this little fella?"

"Yeah, or I rather think I wouldn't be walking in with one." Harry responded with a smile, walking up to the counter. Sans looked miffed that he was being more or less ignored as Harry explained his situation. Y'know, 'dog appeared, Sans told me he had no owner, decided to take the dog with me and his name is Toby.'

Sans seemed a bit surprised at the name, but rolled with it.

\---------------------------------

They ended up staying about an hour, Harry chatting with the shopkeeper (Bonnie) about everything from recipes (they ended up swapping stories of things that had gone wrong in each of their respective kitchens, with Sans interjecting with stories of when Papyrus tries to cook and something went badly and the kitchen suffered) and what the best material for properly warm clothing was.

Harry had ended up getting a brown collar with gold fastenings and a circular gold name plate (which Bonnie had quickly added Toby's name to with a small bit of magic), two boxes of dog treats, a small red sweater with gold bones on it to keep the dog warm in the frigid temperature, a small bag of dog food, a few bottles of water, a pair of bowls, a sleeping bag, and large black backpack to carry all of this junk.

Surprisingly, Sans had footed the bill for the supplies with a simple 'you made papyrus happier than he's been in a while.' Though, when Sans turned his back, Harry slipped Bonnie a few gold pieces and the bunny monster nodded solemnly. A silent exchange passed between the two, and Harry smiled before stepping away from the counter.

"Bye! Come again sometime, Harry!" Bonnie called as Harry followed Sans out of the shop. Toby barked, racing out the door with his claws clacking loudly on the wooden floors, little fluffy body wriggling in his new sweater. Harry waved back, grinning. "See you later, Bonnie! I'll be sure to come back sometime!"

Sans gave a lazy half wave, grin briefly twitching up. "later, bon. have a-"

Oh Merlin Sans no.

"-hoppy night." Sans finished with a lopsided grin, ignoring Harry's deadpan expression. Even Toby gave him a disapproving growl, eyeing up the skeleton and flashing a maw of tiny teeth at him.

Bonnie groaned, shoving her face into her paws. "Get outta here, you bony menace, and take your puns with you!"

"aw come on, don't be a downer." Sans chuckled before sauntering out. Harry shrugged at Bonnie, and followed suit with another wave.

The skeleton yawned, looking at Harry with half-lidded sockets. "so, you up for another sleepover, princess?"

Harry shrugged. "Eh, sure. Not like I got anywhere else to go. Besides, I got a sleeping bag this time."

He was treated to a deadpan look as Sans raised a bony eyebrow without displacing his half-lid. It was kind of impressive. "c'mon shorty, throw a guy a bone, wouldja? you know i didn't mean it like that."

"Aw, Sansy, you're too sweet. But, you said it yourself..." Harry grinned, leaning in so his breath ghosted over Sans' teeth. The skeleton was flushed blue, grin faltering a bit, eyes locked on his, and sweat gathering at his temple. "...not until the third date, loverboy."

With that, Harry pulled back and walked ahead, a satisfied grin on his face despite his slight blush. Toby made a (dare he say it) exasperated noise from by his feet, and Harry bit back a smirk at the big ol' doggy grin on his little face.

He snickered as he heard Sans scrambling to keep up after a few moments of silence, grumpily mumbling to himself. The skeleton glared at him, face still very much a baby blue shade. "ey! it's not funny, you fucking tease."

"I beg to differ; you could mimic a blueberry right now, Sans. I wish I had a camera." Harry grinned, bumping his shoulder against Sans. He huffed, bumping back. "you could rival a tomato, princess."

"I could never remember if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable..." Harry mumbled as Sans opened the front door to his house, gesturing Harry and Toby inside.

The dog immediently dashed for the kitchen, and muffled screeching could be heard along with loud crashing noises. "SAAANS! THE ANNOYING DOG IS BACK AND IT'S TRYING TO STEAL MY SPAGHETTI!"

"Toby! Get back here you crazy dog!" Harry called, tossing his backpack to Sans and hurrying after the dog.

He found Toby covered in pasta sauce, noodles splattered everywhere and sauce pretty much coating the entire kitchen. Papyrus was holding the dog as far away from him as possible, arms outstretched and eyes narrowed. "HUMAN! IS THIS YOUR DOG?!"

"Uh... yes...?" Harry responded nervously, biting back a laugh at the scene. Papyrus looked relieved. "OH THANK GOODNESS! YOU TAKE THE RASCAL OUT OF MY KITCHEN! I'LL HAVE TO REDO THIS BATCH OF SPAGHETTI ALL OVER AGAIN... AND THIS MESS, IT'LL TAKE AGES TO CLEAN IT ALL UP!"

"Sorry, Papyrus. I'll help you clean up, if you want." Harry offered, quickly taking off his coat and dashing into the living room to set it down before coming back into the kitchen to pick up the sopping wet dog. Papyrus nodded thankfully before picking up the abandoned pasta bowl on the floor and gingerly placing it on the counter.

Toby sent him a grin, slurping his glasses cheerfully. Harry scowled at the dog, who looked a bit cowed by the stern parental look he'd aquired from Andromeda. "Toby, you can't just do stuff like that, you silly dog. No dog treats for you tonight."

The dog whined, sending him a pleading look. Harry held firm, merely turning to Sans (who had been sitting on the sidelines with a shit eating grin and watching the events unfold).

"I'll just use the kitchen sink to wash off the little guy... though, I might need a stool," Harry observed as he saw the ridiculously tall sink. Sans snickered and with a flippant grin, he hit a previously unnoticed switch and the sink slowly was brought down, the flooring under it groaning as the cupboard sunk down into it. Harry opened his mouth to question it before deciding against it.

Papyrus scowled at the mess still on the surrounding area, but nodded at Harry. "I'M GOING TO CLEAN OFF; I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND THE MESS. WE'LL TACKLE THAT AFTER."

"Of course," Harry agreed amicibly. Papyrus smiled weakly before walking into a previously unseen room, the door shutting behind him resolutely. Harry sighed, glancing at the chaos of the room before sighing. Toby was going to be a real handful, wasn't he?

Harry dragged a foldable chair in front of the sink, sitting down with a sigh. Toby whuffed from beside him, and Harry quickly scooped the little dog up before he could escape.

Said dog shot him a glare as he removed the dirty sweater from him and his new collar so they could be washed, and put the dog on his lap while he adjusted the water so it didn't scald him or freeze him. He didn't resist, but seemed to be pouting like a peculant child.

Sans yawned and plopped himself down on the counter, watching curiously as Harry tested the water and made it a bit hotter. He waited patiently until it filled the sink up so it was just about level with Toby's belly, before turning off the water and making sure it was the proper temperature.

"Got any soap I can use to clean him off with, and a rag?" Harry asked Sans absently, slowly setting Toby down in the water. The dog gave him a betrayed look.

Sans made a noise, and a floating bottle of generic brand soap was being held in front of him. Harry nodded his thanks before blinking. "I forgot to say thanks, by the way."

"whatever for, princess?" Sans responded with a tone that said 'I'm only doing this to embaress you'. Harry huffed, rubbing soap into Toby's coat carefully. "The whole levitation thing. I would probably be a goner otherwise."

"nah, my bro knows when to stop. he wouldn't kill you. he's too nice. he even ended up befriending you, instead of capturing you. he'd never be capable of killing something."

There was a companionable silence as Harry carefully cleaned his furry friend, only the occasional splash and noise from Toby breaking the silence sparodically.

\---------------------------------

Finally, the moment was shattered and Harry finished cleaning Toby off and managed to task Sans with watching the canine while he and Papyrus (who had just gotten out of the shower) cleaned up.

TV noise played in the background as Harry scrubbed at the stovetop, Papyrus doing the same only he was mopping the floor until it sparkled.

"MY BROTHER ALWAYS GOES OUT TO EAT. BUT... RECENTLY, HE TRIED BAKING SOMETHING. IT WAS LIKE... A QUICHE. BUT FILLED WITH A SUGARY, NON-EGG SUBSTANCE. HOW ABSURD!" Papyrus broke the silence first, and Harry raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Maybe not; did you try it?"

"NO, NOT REALLY. HE THREW IT OUT, I THINK." Papyrus frowned, and Harry shrugged. "Hmm. One day I'll have to convince him to make it again and check it out."

It was quiet again before Papyrus spoke again. "...I NEVER ASKED YOU YOUR NAME. SANS ALWAYS CALLS YOU 'PRINCESS' AND 'SHORTY', BUT I DO NOT THINK THAT IS ACTUALLY YOUR NAME."

Harry chuckled, shaking his head as he moved onto scrubbing at the walls. "My name is Harry. Sans just likes to call me those things as nicknames of a sort, Papyrus."

"LIKE HOW HE CALLS ME 'BRO' ALL THE TIME?"

"Yeah, just like that." Harry hummed, sending Papyrus a small smile. The tall skeleton grinned back, pleased by his understanding of pet names. It was endearing.

Harry had to sigh as the mothering instincts reared their head again. Damn it.

\---------------------------------

Dinner was... a fiasco.

"Toby, down!" Harry scolded, and the small dog sneezed at him with a distateful look. Papyrus had pulled out a foldable table for them to eat at, deeming the couch inefficient to sit on for dinner. Harry was a bit thankful; the couch wasn't the greatest place to eat at.

Sans snickered, flicking a meatball at the dog, who lept up with a bark and snatched it out of the air. Harry gave the skeleton a glare. He was trying to keep Toby away from the table so he would eat his own food, but the dog insisted on attempting to faceplant into his spaghetti (which was actually not too bad, after the initial nibble under Papyrus' hopeful look).

"hey, i wouldn't want to eat dog food either if i was a dog. pap's spaghetti is far better, no bones about it." Sans grinned, shrugging his shoulders. Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Really. What was it with Sans and being a pest?

Said skeleton gave Sans an unimpressed look. "SANS! WHILE IT'S TRUE THAT MY SPAGHETTI IS FAR SUPERIOR TO DOG FOOD, YOU DON'T NEED TO MAKE A PUN ABOUT IT!"

Harry sighed as Sans fired back a few puns. Great. It'll be a miracle if the house is still standing after this.

Papyrus glared at Sans and tried to ignore him after that.

\---------------------------------

They ended up watching some quiz show Papyrus was into that featured a robot named Mettaton.

It was a bit silly, as there was no prize (other than more questions), but it was amusing. Mettaton was extremely self-centered and egotistical, and his questions and responses perfectly mirrored this. Toby had passed out within five minutes, Papyrus was pretty entranced by the show, but Harry and Sans found a better way to make the show more entertaining.

"hey, princess, i bet you the next question is something mettaton related."

"No duh, Sans. I bet the next question is about how perfect Mettaton is."

"...whoops. alright, fine, the guy gets the question wrong but mettaton pities him and tells him he's right."

"No w-... well, I guess you were right."

"WOULD YOU TWO JUST BE QUIET?! I'M TRYING TO WATCH THIS!"

"sorry, pappers."

"Sorry, Papyrus."

"YOU'RE FORGIVEN. JUST BE QUIET!"

\---------------------------------

Harry blinked as Papyrus tugged on Sans' jacket sleeve, yawning. "SANS! I'M GOING TO BED; YOU NEED TO READ ME MY BEDTIME STORY!"

"alright bro, i'll be up in a minute. go ahead and pick out the book we're reading tonight, ok?" Sans mumbled, waving Papyrus off with a crooked smile. Harry raised an eyebrow tiredly, petting Toby absently. "Better get up there, big guy. Don't wanna keep Papyrus waiting."

"nah, we don't. he gets cranky without his bedtime story," Sans yawned before he got to his feet. Toby let out a whuff of agreement, and Harry looked at the dog curiously. "Y'know, fella, I think you know more than you let on."

He was treated to a deadpan look.

Sighing, Harry relaxed back into the couch, drowsing a bit. This was nice. Domestic, almost. He could probably get used to this, really. It didn't really stick as odd; he felt like he'd known these two forever.

Sans' voice floated down the stairs, the words not really following, just the sound of Sans reading. Harry relaxed into the cushions, slowly shutting his eyes. He'd get up in a few minutes.

\---------------------------------

Sans yawned as he shuffled out of Papyrus' room, his bones creaking in protest. Finally, Papyrus was sleeping and he could get some shut eye.

He stopped and raised an eyebrow as he realized that Harry was fast asleep on the couch, snoring softly. He sighed and changed course to go downstairs, not willing to get a scolding for leaving Harry asleep on the couch. From Papyrus or Harry, he wasn't too sure. He's fallen asleep on the couch before, and it never is too pleasant.

The wizard was tucked into a ball at the end of the couch, legs drawn up and head on the armrest. He looked pretty relaxed, and Sans felt a bit bad for moving him. He carefully slipped and arm under Harry's legs, the other wrapping around his waist. Harry grumbled in his sleep, and Sans froze as he snuggled into his arms a bit.

There was a pause before Sans let out a relieved sigh when Harry didn't move any more, levitating Harry's bag after him as he made his way back to his room. He'd set him up in his sleeping bag; at least his floor was reasonably clean. The trash tornado more or less took care of that.

Toby walked after him, the small dog seemingly half asleep but unwilling to be left alone out in the living room. Sans chuckled at the dog's ruffled fur, and Toby shot him an unamused look. There was something particularily odd about that dog. Sans couldn't quite put his finger on it, but that dog was a strange one, no bones about it.

Carefully, Sans set up the sleeping bag for Harry. When he was sure it was comfortable enough, he slowly tucked Harry in. The wizard whined in his sleep when he was placed down on the blankets, but quieted quickly when Toby curled up next to him and the blankets were wrapped around him.

"night, shorty." Sans murmured quietly, taking off his jacket and slippers before crawling into his own bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent way too much time on Undertale; I got it for my birthday, and proceeded to immediately go and play it for fourteen hours on a Pacifist Run which I finished on Sunday midday, so this chapter is way shorter and an interlude of sorts. Sorry! I would have unleashed the angst, but decided you deserve time to prepare. ^^"
> 
> As always, tags I missed, suggestions for events/things to happen, send 'em my way!
> 
> Cheers! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em


	8. Hot Chocolate and Determination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have the angst.
> 
> Also the subsequent fluff and shenanigans. Because I suck at writing angst only.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm going back and actually going to be serious about the tags now. But I'll try not to be so serious about them because apparently that's part of this fic's charm.

  
_Dustdustdust._

_There was so much dust. So much. It was choking him, clogging his throat and stinging his eyes. He felt like it'd never get off, always cling to him._

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

_Huh? He peered up, dust flowing down his cheeks like macrabe tears. A child stood in the hall, clothes dusty and smile forced. He could see the tears in their eyes. The trembling of how they held their dust-stained knife. How did it come to this? **Why did it have to come to this?!?** **THEY WERE JUST A CHILD!**_

_"heya. you've been busy, huh?"_

_Nonono. Not him._

_A skeleton, face half hidden in the dark shadow, eyes gleaming. A red, dusty scarf poking out of his hood. A bitter smile. He could see the downturned curve of that smile, the tired marks that he didn't remember quite being there before. Before? There was a before? Wasn't it always this? Destruction, ruin, decay? No... no... there was happiness before, he thinks. What does he know? He doesn't exist here._

_The dust streamed faster, the pale powder dripping onto the flawless tiles. Neither skeleton or child paid it any mind, eyes locked. There was a quiet agreement between the two before the skeleton sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "let's just get to the point."_

_The twin rivers of dust clumped and blackened as he cried, hot, angry tears splashing down. The dust kept flowing._

_Bones struck out of the ground, horrifying skulls appearing and shooting at the child. The child, who ducked and weaved like they've done this a hundred times before. He didn't doubt it. It was painful, watching two friends (they were once friends, right? But maybe he's wrong and it's always been like this. What does he know? He doesn't exist here) battle._

_The child moved stiffly, as if they were a puppet being controlled by a particularily bad puppeteer, as if this was all a horrible puppet show being put on for a crowd. Maybe they would cheer on the child, maybe they would cheer on the skeleton. He just wished this horrible, horrible dream- no, memory, this was real, this happened, even if he never was there, this was a reality at one point- would end._

_But then the child was given the chance to spare the skeleton._

_And when they did..._

_CRUNCH. The child slammed against a wall, the marble cracking. Their head split with a sickening sound, blood rushing down their face. They looked a bit happy, a faint smile on their face as their soul shattered and their body slumped to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut. That's what they were, anyways. Always the one being controlled, always forced to go through the same story even when they just wanted to sit down and give up._

_The skeleton's grin gave way into a sad look. His eyes dimmed, and he shrank in on himself. His voice was gruff when he spoke, heavy with emotion. "if you're really my friend... you wont come back."_

**_SAVE LOADED._ **

_The child looked despaired as they were jerked forward, their feet dragging on the tiles. The room had reset, polished tiles gleaming again and blood free. The walls and pillars were in tact. No blood remained on the child, their wound fixed. Not a scratch was on them. The child's despaired look was removed, and a forced look of anger thrown on like a badly edited photo._

_"whoa, you look REALLY pissed off... heheh, did i getcha? well, i guess this means we never really were friends huh? don't tell the other sans-es." The skeleton joked, but his face was pained. He thought he saw a bit of blue in the corner of his visible socket, but it was gone in a second._

_The battle resumed._

_The dust came faster and he could barely see past the grainy little specks of dust, peskily stinging his eyes and trying to glue his eyes shut. He gagged on the heavy, ashen taste as it started to spill from his maw, choking on it. He retched, because this was someone's dead body get it out get it out get it OUT GET IT OUT MAKE IT STOP . . ._

_Silence._

_He forcefully opened his eyes, wiping at the dust streaming down in an unending stream, and screamed._

_The skeleton was slumped onto the tiles, clutching at his chest, pupils bare specks and grin faded down into nothing. Crimson splashed onto the tiles, dripping down his chin. His ribs were slashed, marrow spilling out and mixing with the dust steadily falling from the bones. He could see the bones disintigrating and no no no the dust was in his mouth and in his eyes and it was getting worse no stop HE JUST WANTED IT TO STOP . . ._

_A wet cough. "welp. i'm going to grillby's."_

_The skeleton stood, bones rattling loudly in the silence, his footsteps slower than usual. A trail of red-stained dust followed him. The skeleton paused before peering at a pillar, his eyes foggy but focused. "papyrus? you want anything?"_

_The skeleton took a rattling breath and his dust spread across the tiles, all that was left was a dusty red scarf and ketchup-stained blue jacket that was stained with dust and blood._

**_SAVE LOADED._ **

_No. NO. NONONONONONONONONO NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN . . ._

_"that look on your face..."_

_The child was crying now, silently. The skeleton shut his eyes for a moment, shuddering. "let's just get to the point."_

_And it continued in the same way._

_Bloodstained tiles, a dusty jacket. A dusty scarf, more and more dust running down his cheeks. He knew whose dust it was._

_Again. And again. And again and again aND AGAIN AND AGA I N  A N D  A G A I N **A N D  A G A I N**_

\---------------------------------

Harry wrestled the blankets off of him, his head pounding and hands shaky. What the fuck?! What kind of dream was that!?!

He bit back the urge to claw at his arms. It wouldn't help anybody. He could still taste the... the dust. Merlin, the dust... so much dust...

Toby whimpered from nearby, and Harry squinted as he tried to find the small dog. A tiny shape crawled up out of the darkness and rested itself against his lap, and he sighed before petting the little guy.

"Sorry I woke you up, buddy..." Harry whispered apologetically, voice barely audible. The dog whuffed equally as quietly, and the dog vanished into the darkness before he was back. Something cold was dropped in his lap, and Harry was startled to notice that it was his glasses. He smiled, even though it wouldn't be seen, and wiped them off on his blankets before placing them on his face. Everything was less blurry, and he could now at least see the faint outlines of his surroundings.

As quietly as possible, Harry stood up. He noticed he was in Sans' room again; although, he was sleeping in his sleeping bag. Looks like Sans actually listened to him.

He ignored the disappointed pang.

Tiredly, Harry carefully moved towards where he assumed the door was. Luckily, he was correct, and managed to fumble the door open. Toby followed him, barely visible in the faint lighting coming from outside, and Harry shut the door with a sigh. He never noticed the absent sound of snoring.

He carefully picked his way past Papyrus' room, unsure if the tall skeleton would wake up if he stepped too loudly. Better safe than sorry, anyways. Luckily, Toby seemed to understand and the small dog made little noise as he padded after him, like a tiny, fluffy, white shadow.

Harry relaxed once he was downstairs, but he was still careful.

Toby made a small, strained whine and pranced near the door. Harry bit back a sigh, instead choosing to throw on his coat and shoes (which had luckily been left out in the living room) and open the door for the little guy.

Toby yapped thankfully and took off into the snow, and Harry chuckled, a raspy noise. He wished he had something to drink (to wash away the taste of dust), but the wizard patiently waited for Toby to finish up. He could grab some water or something when he got inside. For now, Harry leaned against the wall, and admired the little rocks glittering like stars.

Slowly, his thoughts turned to the dream that had woke him up.

He bit his lip, a heaviness returning to his chest. He shuddered at the memory of crimson painted tiles, of dusty red scarves and jackets. He felt bile rise in his throat at the thought before a tear dripped down.

Dammit. He wasn't normally an excessively sentimental person, but... how could somebody force a child to do all of this? How could somebody repeatedly kill for the sake of entertainment?!

Harry muffled an angry sob, swiping away the tears viciously. He'd get them out of here. Nobody deserves a life underground, and nobody certainly deserved being murdered repeatedly like some form of sick television!

...he could still feel the dust.

The door creaked open, and Harry quickly wiped off the rest of his tears. Papyrus blinked out at him in confusion, eyes half lidded still. "HARRY? WHY ARE YOU OUTSIDE? IT'S VERY COLD OUT."

"Just needed to let Toby go to the bathroom. He should be running back in a moment." Harry explained, praying that Papyrus would ignore his red-rimmed eyes. The skeleton narrowed his sockets at him, corners of his grin curling down in suspicion.

"HARRY, I SUSPECT YOU ARE NOT BEING HONEST WITH ME. PLEASE, TELL ME THE TRUTH. AM I BEING A BAD FRIEND? DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?" Papyrus said pleadingly, shiny orange tears gathering at the edge of his sockets. Harry quickly shook his head, eyes wide.

"No, no! Don't cry! You're a great friend; the best! I just had a bad dream, you did nothing wrong, I promise, Papyrus!" The skeleton sniffled, wiping away the gathering tears. Harry felt a wave of relief. "R-REALLY?"

"Of course; why would I joke about the Great Papyrus, after all?" Harry said with a fond smile, relaxing as Papyrus slowly relaxed and smiled back. Toby, thankfully, ran up to them with a sharp yap and Harry gestured towards the door. "Let's head back in, where it's warm, yeah?"

Papyrus nodded and held the door open for the dog and the wizard, both thankful to be inside again. Harry shrugged off his jacket, neatly folding it and placing it down where it was before, and slipped off his shoes.

He startled as a large bony hand grabbed his and he was led to the couch. "SIT!"

With that, Papyrus walked into the kitchen. Harry blinked, but decided not to question it. Toby gave a quiet, tired huff and jumped onto the couch to join him. The fluffy dog shoved his face into the crook of Harry's shoulder, yawning.

"Heh, I feel ya, 'By." Harry said in a tired voice, absently petting the dog.

Finally, Papyrus reemerged from the kitchen. He held two cups of something that was steaming hot, and Harry carefully took the offered mug. It was hot chocolate; and it didn't look, or smell, too bad.

"WHENEVER SANS GETS A BAD DREAM I ALWAYS MAKE HIM HOT CHOCOLATE." Papyrus said quietly, or, well, as quietly as Papyrus would ever get.

Harry shot him a grateful smile, lightly sipping at the hot liquid. It didn't taste too bad, actually. It was actually really good; sweet enough, but not too sweet, creamy, but not overwhelmingly. Harry sighed contentedly, taking another quick sip. "This is really good, Papyrus."

"THANK YOU, HARRY." Papyrus beamed, sipping his own drink. Half-heartedly, Harry wondered where it went; then decided he didn't know or care. It was quiet, peaceful. It must be very late at night, but, here he was, sipping hot chocolate with a skeleton in a house that was underground in a place that snows that was in a video game.

Sounds so strange when put bluntly like that.

\---------------------------------

Soon enough, Harry finished his hot chocolate. He sighed and gently scooped up Toby, the small dog making an annoyed noise but not protesting further. "Thank you, Papyrus, for that. I needed that, I think."

Papyrus stayed quiet, merely giving him a tired smile. Harry paused, picking up the empty mugs and carrying them to the kitchen. It was the least he could do.

Harry blinked as he remembered the tall sink. Well, shit. Frowning, Harry shifted Toby higher up before carefully levitating the mugs up. He winced at the sharp pain digging into his palm as he guided them up, letting them carefully drop into the sink with a muffled thud.

The wizard sighed, rubbing his eyes with his free hand before walking back out into the living room. Papyrus was standing up, the skeleton pretty much dead on his feet. Heh. Skeleton, dead... dammit. Sans was really getting to him. Even his awful jokes were invading.

"Goodnight, Papyrus. Sorry I woke you up, by the way." Harry murmured, yawning. Papyrus gave him a stern look. "NOBODY DESERVES TO BE ALONE AFTER A BAD DREAM."

Harry gave a tired agreement and followed Papyrus up the stairs. The skeleton stilled and suddenly Harry was being given a quick hug. The wizard blinked in confusion, but hugged back with his free hand regardless. Papyrus pulled away, face a fierce shade of tangerine.

"IF... IF YOU EVER HAVE ANOTHER BAD DREAM, YOU CAN ALWAYS WAKE ME UP. I DON'T MIND. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AFTER ALL, AND I AM A GREAT FRIEND! SO MY DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN. FIGURATIVELY." Papyrus added as an afterthought, the skeleton grinning at Harry.

He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, then finally Harry managed to choke out a 'thank you'. Papyrus beamed brightly before he left and went into his room with a "GOOD NIGHT, HARRY!"

Harry exchanged a look with Toby, the small dog giving him an unamused look. Harry chuckled, ruffling the dog's fur before he slipped back into Sans' room.

Said skeleton was up, drowsing in a sitting position against the wall. The lamp was on. Harry bit back a sigh, guilt knawing at him. Damn. Looks like he woke everyone up.

"bad dream?" Sans asked, and Harry nodded quietly. The skeleton looked at him with half lidded eyes, and Harry felt uneasy. He remembered... shit...

Crimson dripping from a eternally grinning mouth, staining the pristine floor red, bloodied hands clamped over a deadly injury, already slowly dissolving into dust.

"you okay shorty? you're lookin' a bit... sick." Sans asked, and Harry shook as he tried to send Sans a reassuring smile. All that came out was a pained grimace.

It was silent for a moment before Sans lurched off of the bed, bones making various noises, and bodily picked up Harry (and by extension, Toby). Harry blinked in confusion as he was plopped down on Sans' bed again. Toby gave an annoyed yap and stumbled away from the two, flopping down on the floor dramatically. "...I was going to sleep in my sleeping bag."

"nope. you're sleeping with me, shorty. no more nightmares for you; i'll fend 'em off with my good looks." Sans joked, dragging the sleeping bag up onto the bed and gesturing towards it mildly. Harry sighed, handing Sans his glasses before scooting into the warmth of the sleeping bag. It had gotten slightly chilly while he was gone, but still was warm.

He flushed when Sans actually wriggled in next to him, his eye briefly lighting up before his glasses levitated themselves over to the dresser and the lamp flicked off. The skeleton shifted their position so that Harry was cradled to his chest, skull resting on top of his head. Harry sighed, but snuggled into the inviting arms. "You could have just unzipped the bag so that it was a blanket."

"where's the fun in that, shorty?"

"...I'm calling you captain cuddles from now on."

"pff, go right ahead, princess. good night."

"G'night, captain cuddles."

\---------------------------------

Harry woke up to the smell of something burning.

There was a muffled crash, and Harry sighed as he unwillingly dragged himself out of the sleeping bag... right onto the floor with a thump.

There was a bark from nearby, and Harry rubbed his shoulder as he sat up. Ouch. A small white blurr darted towards him, and his glasses were once again dropped into his lap. The wizard smiled, petting the dog before quickly cleaning them off and shoving them on. Toby wagged his tail, dancing around the room excitedly. "Thanks, little guy."

The door was shut, but still a loud, familiar voice could be heard, and a deeper, almost unheard voice. Clanging and crashing were very audible through the door. Harry sighed, feeling a headache coming on. He slowly got up, almost unwilling to actually leave the room and face the chaos probably waiting him, but he did anyways.

As soon as the door opened, he wrinkled his nose. It stank like smoke and burnt spaghetti.

Toby whined by his feet, the small dog sneezing. Harry sighed, running a hand over his face and starting to head downstairs. Bickering was coming from the kitchen, and it drew Harry's attention as he listened. "-SANS! THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR INFERIOR PUNS!"

The wizard snickered, padding towards the kitchen. The scene that awaited him was... ridiculous.

Sans and Papyrus were in the middle of the kitchen, pots and pans burnt and stacked on the kitchen's counters. Dry noodles were scattered across the floor, water dripping from an overflowing sink onto the tiled flooring. The stove was still lit, and the pan on top of the flame looked like it would be destroyed in an instant.

That's not mentioning the state of the brothers.

Sans was mildly scorched, bone face charred but he didn't seem like it hurt much. His jacket was smoking, the edges charred. Papyrus was a sooty mess, the entire front of him coated in ash and a few scorches. The taller skeleton was fussing over Sans (or, well, trying to), but Sans kept swatting away his hands.

Harry sighed, shaking his head. "You two are barmy. Absolutely barmy. I sleep in a little bit and this is what you get up to?"

The skeletons promptly turned to look at Harry, Papyrus looking mildly relieved and Sans simply shrugged (but there was a bit of a tense look on his face if the slightly clenched jaw was any indicator). "HARRY! I WAS TRYING TO MAKE BREAKFAST AND- WELL, I'M NOT TOO SURE WHAT WENT WRONG, BUT SANS GOT HURT AND HE WONT LET ME CHECK HIM!"

"c'mon bro, i'm fine, it's just a little burn, so what?" Sans huffed, dodging Papyrus' attempt to pick him up. Harry rubbed a hand over his eyes, groaning. "It's too bloody early for this nonsense..."

"YOU HAVE ONE HP, SANS! ANY LITTLE INJURY IS NOT GOOD!" Papyrus said sternly, making another defiant grab at Sans. He missed, again, and this time crashed into the sink. Harry let out a pained noise, shoving his face into a hand and using the other to point at the couch.

"Both of you boneheads, go sit on the couch. Seperate ends, if you don't mind. I'm going to clean this mess up, and then I'm going to check both of you and get you cleaned up. Capche?"

There was a grumble of assent, and Harry waited until they were both gone before taking his hand away from his face. He sighed again, running a hand through his hair in exasperation as he looked at the mess again.

Toby sidled up to his ankle, and Harry gave the dog a weary smile. "Just another day, huh? Do me a favor, little fella, and go watch the numbskulls so they don't do anything stupid. There's a dog treat or two in it for you."

The tiny fluffball gave a sharp yap before he was speeding out into the living room, tail wagging a mile a minute.

Harry chuckled, making quick work of getting the kitchen back in order. He drained the sink and turned off the stove (and rescued the poor pan), and luckily he found a broom and dustpan tucked away in the cupboard. The spaghetti on the floor was quickly swept up and tossed out. The water was vanished (Harry winced at the sharp pain he got in return, along with the odd feeling that his magic was being sucked dry although it quickly dissipated), and the pots and pans quickly given a through scrub in the sink before being hastily put away. The stove was cleaned, and finally Harry was done.

There were still a few scorch marks on the ceiling, but honestly, who looked at the ceiling?

When he finally walked into the living room, Harry had to stifle a laugh.

Sans was slumped back onto the couch, snoring, and Papyrus was apparently having a staring contest with Toby, who who had planted himself firmly in the middle of the two. Harry wasn't too sure who was winning.

"Having fun?" Harry quipped, leaning against the kitchen's entryway. Papyrus broke eye contact with Toby and turned to peer at Harry. He squinted at the wizard, and Harry gave the skeleton a smile. "Rhetoic question; no need to answer. Want me to check you out first and get it out of the way?"

Papyrus' grin tilted down, shaking his head. "CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE SURE SANS IS OKAY FIRST? HE NEVER LIKES ADMITTING WHEN HE NEEDS HELP."

Harry isn't very sure what to say then. He merely nods, trying to pretend that he had no idea why it sounded familiar. Papyrus sighs, relaxing finally onto the couch. He doesn't even complain when Toby crawls onto him and gets his fur all smudged. Looks like he's going to need another bath, the silly dog.

He quickly walked over to Sans, nudging the skeleton. Sans grumbled, and it took a few more insistant tugs before he actually opened his eyes.

"man, i'm bone tired. whatcha wake me up for, princess?" Sans said blearily, blinking his weird socket-eyelids tiredly. Harry back back the urge to faceplam, instead steadfastly ignoring the pun and barreling on. "Gotta get you checked out, captain cuddles. Complain and I'll stick you to the ceiling."

"hnph. fine." Sans pouted, getting to his feet with an obnoxious popping of bones. Harry rolled his eyes, leading the way towards the bathroom.

The bathroom was tiled like the kitchen, and slightly smaller. A large tub/shower combo took up one wall, a sink and several cabinets taking up space on the other, as well as a washer and dryer.

Harry motioned for Sans to sit on the tub's edge, rummaging around the cabinets. He blinked at the weird items hidden away in there (seriously?!? Who even puts a dirty sock in a cabinet?!?) before shaking his head and shutting it. He truly has seen it all, Harry huffed.

Sans raised the bone ridge that substituted as eyebrows, grinning a bit wider. Harry rolled his eyes at the knowing look. "Where do you hide the washrags? If I'm going to see what you've ended up doing to yourself I'll need one."

The skeleton chuckled, levitating a bright blue washrag over. Harry nodded in thanks, turning on the sink and quickly wetting the rag with lukewarm water. He squeezed the extra water out with practiced ease, more than used to Teddy getting hurt and needing him to clean up a cut or scrape.

The wizard shook himself out of his musings, turning around and seating himself on the tub next to Sans. Said skeleton obidiently turned to face him, quietly watching him. It was slightly jarring, but Harry said nothing.

"It might hurt a bit when I clean you up; this isn't the softest material." Harry mumured, leaning forward and placing the rag at the bottom of Sans' jaw and starting to lightly scrub at the soot coating his skull. The skeleton stayed perfectly still, and Harry gave a wry smile as he noticed the light dusting of blue over his face (where it was visible, anyways).

It was a comfortable quiet that fell between the two.

Sans hissed out a pained breath, and Harry stilled. Harry had finally finished cleaning off his jaw, and most of his face, all except for a patch of soot right in between his eyes. The charred bone was rough here, and Harry frowned at the discoloring the light scrub had unearthed. "Damn. What'd you do, get hit by a steaming-hot pan?"

Silence.

Harry sighed, shaking his head. "I'd ask if you were joking, but frankly I know you aren't and am merely going to stay quiet on asking how even did that situation happen."

Sans chuckled, bumping his shoulder despite the slight waver of his grin. "hey, it's just a scratch. i've had worse."

"...That's not at all reassuring." Harry huffed, continuing to gently swipe at the burn. The skeleton stayed quiet other than the occasional pained noise when Harry got to a particularily tender spot.

"my dad used to do this," Sans finally spoke up, and Harry raised an eyebrow, silently asking his companion to continue. "i'd get into trouble, get roughed up, and he'd take me into the bathroom and clean me up like it was nothing. once, i was running around; don't really remember what i was doing, but i remember that i ended up making a giant crack in the back of my skull. dad, heh, dad just sat me down in the bathroom on the tub's edge and fixed it before telling me to be more careful. he never complained about the fact that my hp was at a constant max of one; he just fixed me up, good as new."

Harry hmm'ed, pausing to actually look at Sans. The skeleton was looking a bit sad, his eyes looking away from Harry. The wizard sighed, lightly wiping off the last of the ash. "He sounds like a good guy."

"yeah," Sans said in a gruff voice. "he was a good guy."

Harry turned his head over his shoulder to look at Sans as he rummaged in the cabinets again for something to put on the bruising and hairline fractures. "Was?"

There was a tense pause before Sans coughed awkwardly. "he, ah, died."

"Oh," Harry murmured. He didn't really know what it was like to lose parents since he didn't really remember them, so he couldn't really relate, but... he remembered how it felt to lose Sirius and Remus, the closest things to family he had at one point. "I'm sorry."

He shut the cabinet, balancing the slightly dusty (he withheld a shudder when he saw it) antibotic that was hidden in the back of the shelves, and the bandages he had found shoved between a joke book and another dirty sock (okay, seriously?! Another one?!).

"he died a long time ago. i'm actually not too sure why i'm telling you this, princess." Sans finally confessed. Harry gave him a reassuring smile, sitting down again and prepping the rag before splashing a small amount of the antibotic onto the rag. "I don't know either. I've been told I'm a good listener, but then again I've also been told I could find trouble in an empty room with no windows or doors and nothing inside."

Sans laughed, the end trailing off into a pained grunt as Harry pressed the rag onto his skull. Harry winced in sympathy as faintly blue smoke trailed away from it. Ouch. "Sorry; didn't know it'd do that."

"nah, it's fine shorty, it just stings a bit. go on, doc, fix me up so i can tell paps i'm fine." Sans said with a crooked grin, and Harry rolled his eyes before pressing the rag back.

After a few minutes of a repeated press, remove, press, remove, finally Sans' skull stopped smoking and the bruising actually started to vanish. Harry let out a relieved sigh, dropping the rag down and ripping open a band aid package.

It was a neutral white, and Harry grinned. A pen found itself being floated over from the cabinets (despite the harsh zap Harry recieved in return) and there was an evil smirk curling his lips.

His idea would probably make Papyrus frown and beseech him, but Sans would perk up and that's what mattered.

Sans peered over, but Harry quickly shoved a hand over the recently drawn on band aid and gave him a serious look. "No peeking! Say the magic word!"

"abracadabra, hocus pocus," the skeleton joked lightly. Harry rolled his eyes, but nevertheless showed him what he'd done.

"oh. my. god." Sans gasped, his grin rapidly widening and eyes brightening. Harry couldn't help but grin back, feeling like a doofus. "i could kiss you. this is brilliant. lay it on me doc, gotta show the world how tough i am with this amazing band aid."

The band aid was really just a silly joke, but... Harry was glad that Sans liked it. He'd just drawn a cartoon bone on the center and written 'bad to the bone' around it in block letters, but if it made Sans happy, then. Who was he to complain?

Happily, Harry placed the band aid right over the fissures and gave the skeleton a thumbs up. Sans grinned, but suddenly he seemed a bit... sharklike.

"hey, princess... isn't there a saying...?" Oh no. "'kiss it better,' or something?"

"Sans." Harry huffed, crossing his arms. The skeleton gave him a pair of puppy eyes that put most of the puppy eyes he's seen to shame.

A moment passed and Harry wavered.

"Fine. But mock me for it and I'm so going to tell Bonnie that you drool, snore, and are a giant octopus when you're sleeping so she can spread it to everyone she knows." Harry warned, his cheeks reddening. Sans' skeleton eyebrows raised in surprise, a blue dusting passing over his skull. "heh, i know you're the one with guts, but i never thought you would be the gutsy one, princess."

"Oh, shut up, Sans." Harry grumbled, leaning forward. The skeleton quickly shut his mouth, but a cocky grin remained. The wizard resisted the urge to roll his eyes, instead quickly pressing his lips over where the band aid was. His face burned as he pulled back, and he was mildly pleased to see that Sans was blushing a bright blue. Good. At least he wasn't the only one embaressed.

"C'mon, you lazybones." Harry said after an awkward moment, gently grabbing a bone hand and tugging. Sans made a noise and stood up, shuffling after him. Harry opened the door and lead him out back into the living room.

Papyrus looked up when the door opened, the skeleton perking up at the sight of the two.

"IS SANS OKAY?" He fretted, already moving Toby away from his lap and standing up to check on the smaller skeleton. Harry waved his free hand flippantly, nodding. "Yeah, he's fine. Still the same git we all know."

"and love, don't forget love, i'm very lovable." Sans added with a shit-eating grin. Harry shot him a glare, his blush returning with a vengence. Arse.

"SANS!" Papyrus narrowed his eyes at his brother, and Harry bit back a snicker as the taller skeleton gave him a stern look. "WHILE I KNOW YOU LIKE HARRY, YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE HIM UNCOMFORTABLE BY SAYING THINGS LIKE THAT! AND AFTER HE LET YOU HOLD HIS HAND, TOO!"

Harry adruptly realized that he was still holding Sans' hand. By the bright blue flush and startled expression, Sans realized it too.

They hastily disentangled their respective hands, Harry quickly attempting to escape to the kitchen with a hasty "I'm gonna try and make something to eat!"

There was a muffled laugh from Papyrus, and Harry felt himself blush. This is horrible.

Toby yapped by his feet, and Harry groaned as he facepalmed. "Welp. I'm never going to be allowed to forget this, am I?"

Bark.

The wizard glared at the dog, who merely gave him a doggy grin and wagged his tail. Harry sighed, straightening his shoulders and deciding to actually cook something.

\---------------------------------

Papyrus (who had taken a shower and cleaned up) had come in while he cooked (he ended up making spaghetti, as they literally didn't have any ingredients to make anything else).

This led to a very awkward conversation.

It had started out alright; Papyrus was asking questions about the process Harry used to make spaghetti, and Harry answered to the best of his ability. Then the topic strayed and Harry wasn't too sure what to make of this.

"HARRY, MAY I ASK YOU A QUESTION?" Papyrus said after a moment, and Harry looked up from the stove to send Papyrus a wry smile. "Already did, buddy, but sure, go ahead."

"WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS TOWARDS MY BROTHER?"

Harry choked on air, whirling around to face the skeleton. Dammit, he thought he'd forget but nooo, of course not, he's Harry fucking Potter and the universe hates him!

"H-he's a pretty cool guy, I think?" Harry stuttered, sure his face was a bright red by now. Papyrus huffed, tapping his boots on the kitchen floor impatiently. "YES, HE IS VERY COOL, BUT DO YOU LIKE HIM? LIKE LIKE HIM?"

The wizard awkwardly stumbled over his words, not too sure what to say here. Fucking hell, why did he always get into these situations!?!

"I think? Maybe? I really don't know, Papyrus." Harry managed to choke out, awkwardly running a hand through his hair. Papyrus made a noncommital noise, and Harry winced as the skeleton gave a scrutinizing look. "WELL, IF YOU DO HAPPEN TO LIKE LIKE HIM, I'LL ALLOW IT AS HIS VERY COOL BROTHER!"

Harry gave a shaky smile, appreciative of the gesture if nothing else. Papyrus grinned back and the topic turned back to spaghetti making.

Sometimes, he wondered why he even bothered thinking things could be normal for him.

\---------------------------------

"hmm, something smells good."

Harry startled, his wand flying out of it's holster and being aimed at Sans before he had time to register.

The skeleton looked a bit shocked at the violent reaction, a bead of sweat dripping down his skull as he eyed the wand pressed against his jaw. Then he grinned, waggling his skeleton eyebrows. "huh. nice stick; what'd you think you were going to do with it?"

"We-ll, I think I could do quite a bit with this 'stick', but... nothing for your eyesockets." Harry repeated with a wide grin, letting his wand drop and placing it back in its holster.Sans chuckled, the skeleton shuffling over to peer at the steaming pot of spaghetti.

Papyrus had vanished a while ago, saying he had something to do. He had looked really secretive, but excited. Harry wondered what he was doing.

"huh, i'm impressed, princess. you've actually managed to keep papyrus from keeping you here when you can make really good spaghetti. by now i thought you would have been locked up in the garage or something." Sans whistled. Harry scoffed, lightly bonking Sans' skull with a plate he was retrieving from a cabinet.

"Sans, come on, I don't think Papyrus would do that." Harry huffed, plopping some spaghetti onto the plate. The skeleton grinned crookedly, shrugging. "hey, you never know. paps is pretty fierce about his pasta, tibia honest."

\---------------------------------

"..."

"Uh, Papyrus? Do you... do you like it?"

"..."

Harry was a bit worried, but from Sans' shit eating grin, he had no reason to be. Well, actually, probably even more reason to be. Even Toby, who was perched on the couch's arm, was beaming a giant doggy smile.

The tall skeleton moved so fast Harry never saw him coming. (And that's not a joke for the internet to enjoy!)

The wizard made a startled noise as he was bodily picked up, blinking in confusion. "MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM, HE MAKES WONDERFUL PASTA!"

"aw, come on bro. he made this awesome band aid for me, see?" Sans grinned, pointing at the band aid still on his skull. Papyrus made a pained noise. "HARRY WAS THE ONE WHO DID THAT!?! I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED!"

Harry snickered, attempting to muffle his laughter unsucessfully. Papyrus scoffed, clinging to him regardless. "HE'S STILL MINE! A FEW HORRIBLE PUNS IS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY FOR SUCH WONDERFUL PASTA!"

"yeah, his pasta is pretty great, i'll patella the truth there. but, i don't think he'll make any more pasta if you keep him prisoner, and would i ever fibula, bro?" Sans reasoned, winking broadly at Harry when he assumed Papyrus wasn't looking.

"THAT IS A GOOD POINT... OKAY! HARRY STILL HAS TO SHOW ME HOW HE MAKES HIS PASTA, HOWEVER! I THINK I MISSED A FEW STEPS WHILE I WAS GONE!" Papyrus finally conceeded, placing Harry back on the floor. The wizard grinned, his knees shaky at the sudden departure with the floor still.

"Alright, Papyrus. I'll even leave you the recipe, okay?" Harry reassured, and the skeleton nodded before posing dramatically. "I'LL PERFECT IT, JUST WATCH!"

"I bet you will, Papyrus." Harry beamed.

\---------------------------------

After the spaghetti was finished off, Harry was promptly dragged away by Papyrus.

He wasn't too sure what exactly was happening anymore. Well, he was, but at the same time, he had not a clue of what was happening.

He'd been minding his own business, and all of a sudden he'd been dragged into a hang out with Papyrus. Well. Papyrus had asked to hang out with him while he was dragging Harry away, does that count? Probably not. Oh well.

"...AND THESE ARE ALL THE ATTACKS I USED ON YOU. GREAT MEMORIES, HUH? WAIT- NO! BAD DOG! STAY AWAY FROM THOSE ATTACKS!" Harry groaned, glaring at the tiny dog. "Toby! Get away from those bones or so help me I'll never give you another dog treat!"

The dog gave him a pitiful look, dropping the small bone he had been attempting to carry off and padded towards Harry. The wizard blinked as he noticed the bright red bow around his neck and the lack of soot.

"When did you get clean, buddy?" Harry snickered as he scooped up Toby, the bundle of fluff yapping and wagging his tail cheerfully at the attention. He smelled like those fancy men's perfumes people thought were cool. Harry, personally, thought they smelled horrible and gave him headaches.

Papyrus awkwardly shifted in his spot, and Harry narrowed his eyes at the skeleton. Finally, Papyrus spoke up.

"IMIGHTHAVECLEANEDHIMUPASAGIFTBECAUSEYOUMADESANSHAPPIERTHANHE'SBEENINAWHILE."

Harry raised an eyebrow, taking in that statement. "I dunno, Papyrus, but he seems pretty happy when he's around you too. But, thank you."

The skeleton blushed, but nodded with a proud smile. His chest puffed out a minute amount, but Harry saw.

"SO... UM... IF YOU'VE SEEN EVERYTHING... DO YOU WANT TO START HANGING OUT?"

"Haven't we been doing that for a while, Papyrus?" Harry grinned, putting down Toby. The dog rushed out of the bedroom, barking like a mad dog. He could faintly hear Sans speaking to the crazy beast.

"OKAY THEN! LET'S HANG OUT!" Papyrus grinned, eyes bright.

"*HANG-OUT START!"

Harry bit back a groan at the menu that popped up. Damn. He really, really had hoped that maybe the menus were gone forever but apparently not.

"HERE WE ARE!! HANGING OUT!! I'VE ACTUALLY NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE." Oh dear. "BUT DON'T WORRY! YOU CAN'T SPELL 'PREPARED' WITHOUT SEVERAL LETTERS OF MY NAME!!!"

The skeleton's hand whipped up, a little leatherbound book clutched in his bony phalanges. He grinned, waving it slightly. Harry felt his apprehension grow, but was faintly entertained by this whole madness. "I'VE SNAGGED AN OFFICIAL HANG OUT GUIDEBOOK FROM THE LIBRARY! WE'RE READY TO HAVE A GREAT TIME! LET'S SEE..."

The book's pages fluttered as Papyrus flipped open the book, squinting at the text with his skull pushed close to it. Harry curiously tried to read the embossed lable on the cover, but it was mostly nonsense to him.

"STEP ONE... PRESS THE (C) KEY ON YOUR KEYBOARD FOR THE 'FRIENDSHIP HUD'." Papyrus looked mildly confused, but luckily Harry saw the small (C) hidden on his peripheral vision. He quickly tapped a finger against it, and another menu popped up. It was a bit strange.

Papyrus looked awed at it, jaw dropping a little bit. "WOWIE! I FEEL SO INFORMED! I THINK WE'RE READY FOR STEP TWO!!! STEP TWO... ASK THEM TO HANG OUT! AHEM!"

The skeleton dropped the book down, adopting his signature cocky stance again. "HARRY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL HANG OUT WITH YOU!"

"Sure, Papyrus. No need to ask me twice." Harry grinned lightly. The skeleton's impossibly wide grin got, impossibly enough, even wider. If he was anyone else, he'd probably be scared of how wide it was. He honestly just wondered how he isn't hurting his cheekbones with how ridiculously wide his smile was.

"I GUESS THAT MEANS IT'S TIME FOR PART THREE!!! STEP THREE... 'PUT ON NICE CLOTHES TO SHOW YOU CARE!'"

Harry raised an eyebrow. Was Papyrus sure he hadn't grabbed a date book? Because, last Harry checked, you could be wearing anything when you went to hang out with someone.

Actually, Papyrus had gotten very quiet. Harry bit back a laugh. The skeleton was looking very hard at the bandanna he had wrapped around his neck again.

"WAIT A SECOND. 'WEAR CLOTHING...' THAT BANDANNA... YOU'RE WEARING CLOTHING RIGHT NOW!!! NOT ONLY THAT... YOU WERE ALSO WEARING CLOTHING YESTERDAY! NO... COULD IT BE??? YOU'VE WANTED TO HANG OUT WITH ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!?!"

Sometimes, Harry wondered what he had ever done to get into these situations. Earlier it was the Kiss It Better incident, then the Hand Holding incidient, then the Approval talk with Papyrus, and now this... Harry had no idea what to call it.

"I didn't really plan anything, but I did want to be friends with you and hang out when I met you." Harry said with a hesitent smile, inwardly slapping back the mother hen instincts that screamed he should hug the precious cinnamon roll. Bad. No.

Papyrus gasped, cheekbones a bright orange. "YOU'RE WAY BETTER AT HANGING OUT THAN I AM!!! N-NOOOO!!! YOUR FRIENDSHIP POWER!!!"

Harry looked up in alarm as a meter appeared and promptly went up. The skeleton looked awestruck, but his face quickly slipped back into his normal, smug expression. "NYEH! NYEH-HEH-HEH! DON'T THINK YOU'VE BESTED ME YET! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE NEVER BEEN BESTED AT HANGING OUT. AND I NEVER WILL! I CAN EASILY KEEP UP WITH YOU!!!"

He struck a pose, eyes brighter than ever at the prospect of a challenge. He was like an excited puppy, really. "YOU SEE, I, TOO, CAN WEAR CLOTHING!!! IN FACT... I ALWAYS WEAR MY 'SPECIAL' CLOTHES UNDERNEATH MY REGULAR CLOTHES!! JUST IN CASE SOMEONE WANTS TO HANG OUT! BEHOLD!!!"

He quickly rushed off the menu, and Harry felt a mixed reaction to that. The fact that he was so desperate for someone to hang out with tore at his heartstrings. Nobody should feel so desperate for friendship. But... at the same time, it was endearing.

"NYEH! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY SECRET STYLE!?!"

Papyrus beamed, but Harry saw the hope hidden in his sockets. He was dressed in a different outfit, looking like he'd be at home on a basketball magazine's cover. Harry grinned, giving Papyrus two thumbs up. "You look really cool, Papyrus!"

"NO!!! A GENUINE COMPLIMENT...!!!" He gasped dramatically, and that pesky meter from before appeared again and went up again. Suddenly, Papyrus regained his cocky look but he looked a bit frantic not to 'lose' at hanging out.

"HOWEVER... YOU DON'T TRULY UNDERSTAND THE HIDDEN POWER OF THIS OUTFIT!!! THEREFORE... WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS INVALID!!! THIS HANGOUT WONT ESCALATE ANY FURTHUER!" Papyrus declared, but he suddenly seemed a bit thoughtful.

"...UNLESS YOU FIND MY SECRET!!! BUT THAT WONT HAPPEN!!!"

Harry rubbed his hands together dramatically, trying to make Papyrus lighten up. He walked forward, surprised that the menu actually allowed it, and poked a bony hand curiously.

"HOLDING MY HAND SO I'LL TELL YOU THE ANSWER... NO! I MUST RESIST!" Papyrus declared, grabbing his hand back. But his smile was pretty much a mile long. Harry pretend pouted a moment before he ducked down and poked his shoes.

The skeleton seemed to roll his eyes before speaking again. "HUMAN SOULS ARE STRONGER THAN MONSTER SOULS... BUT THE SOLES OF OUR SHOES ON THE OTHER HAND...! ... ARE ABOUT THE SAME."

The wizard snickered, lightly bopping a shoe again before straightening and prodding Papyrus' shirt. Said skeleton brightened up and excitedly began to speak.

"THIS SHIRT DIDN'T ORIGINALLY SAY 'COOL', BUT I IMPROVED IT. EXPERT TIP: ALL CLOTHING ARTICLES CAN BE IMPROVED THIS WAY." Harry nodded, wondering what the shirt used to say. Eh. Who cares? He moved on and, because no way in HELL was he going to go anywhere near Papyrus' pants, stretched up to tap the tall skeleton's hat.

"MY HAT...? MY HAT. MY HAT! NYEH-HEH-HEH! W-WELL THEN... YOU FOUND MY SECRET! I SUPPOSE I HAVE NO CHOICE! IT'S A PRESENT! I PRESENT J-JUST FOR YOU!" Aw, come on, Harry was starting to think Papyrus was being hopelessly adorable on purpose. Just to drive him nuts as the weird stupid mothering instincts swarmed him.

Papyrus lifted off his hat, and Harry blinked at the box perched under. It seemed a little... warm. Harry shook off the sudden aprehension and tugged on the bow, startled when the box came off and left the... was that spaghetti? behind.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?" Papyrus asked, and Harry hesitently nodded with a mental chuckle. Wait... eeewww! That's not a funny image anymore.

"SPAGHETTI! HMM... THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE THINKING, ISN'T IT? RIGHT! BUT OH-SO WRONG! THIS AIN'T ANY PLAIN OL' PASTA!" Harry cocked his head curiously, raising an eyebrow as Papyrus pretty much vibrated in excitement.

Also, that bloody meter was back.

"THIS IS AN ARTISAN'S WORK! SILKEN SPAGHETTI, FINELY AGED IN AN OAKED CASK..." Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to be disgusted or not. For now, he bit back on the urge to wrinkle his nose. Those had to be some old ass noodles... "THEN COOKED BY ME, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS! HARRY!!! IT'S TIME TO END THIS!! THERE'S NO WAY THIS CAN GO ANY FURTHER!"

Harry looked at the spaghetti and at Papyrus before quickly constructing a reason to not eat it. "As much as I appreciate the spaghetti, Papyrus, I feel like you would appreciate it more than me."

His eyes widened dramatically at that, the skeleton grabbing his cheeks (which were turning a bright orange by the second.) "YOU MEAN... YOU'RE LETTING ME HAVE IT INSTEAD!? BECAUSE... YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE PASTA...! IMPOSSIBLE! TAKING MY PRESENT AND TURNING IT AROUND ON ME!"

Damn. Guilt chewed at him, but Harry held firm. Also... was the meter...? Yep. It was.

Papyrus squawked as he noticed the meter filling up, even... was it seriously...? Harry bit back a laugh as the bar filled way past the actual meter's length, and suddenly the menu turned to white. He couldn't see anything.

"HARRY. IT'S CLEAR NOW."

Oh dear.

"YOU'RE COMPLETELY OBSESSED WITH ME. EVERYTHING YOU DO. EVERYTHING YOU SAY. IT'S ALL BEEN FOR MY SAKE. HARRY. I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY, TOO. IT'S TIME FOR ME TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS. IT'S TIME THAT I TOLD YOU. I, PAPYRUS..."

What even. Harry felt alarm prickle over his skin at this. Ohhh deaar. 'Please don't have a crush on me, please don't have a crush on me.'

The menu reappeared, the fog filtering away. "HMM... WELL, I'M FLATTERED YOU CARE SO MUCH. BUT MAYBE COOL IT A BIT?"

Harry wanted to laugh. Thank Merlin, he was actually worried for a little bit there. Although, he wondered if he should be offended at anything Papyrus said... nah. He's Papyrus. Who could even get mad at him?

"I'M GLAD WE'RE FRIENDS. BUT... I THINK YOU CAN REACH YOUR MAX POTENTIAL... IF YOU LIVE MORE FOR OWN SAKE, RATHER THAN JUST MINE... AND SANS'." Papyrus grinned. Harry groaned, blushing. Dammit, he was never going to get a break, was he?

"HMM... HEY, I KNOW THE SOLUTION! YOU SHOULD HANG OUT WIHT MY BOSS, UNDYNE!!!" That name again. Really, he would love to meet this Undyne person. "I THINK IF YOU SPREAD YOUR FRIEND ENERGY OUT MORE... YOU'LL HAVE A MORE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE. YEAH!!! LET'S BE FRIENDS WITH UNDYNE!!! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Papyrus started to vanish out of the menu, but he quickly stopped and came back. "OH! AND IF YOU EVER NEED TO REACH ME... HERE'S MY PHONE NUMBER! YOU CAN CALL ME ANYTIME! PLATONICALLY. WELL, GOTTA GO! NYEH HEH HEH!"

The menu vanished and Harry blinked as Paprus ran downstairs, adruptly screeching at something (probably Sans... or Toby.)

Harry chuckled, walking out of the room, being careful to shut off the light and close the door.

Sans was flopped down on the couch, his body half sitting up half laying on the cushion, with Toby drowsing his life away on his chest. How he could even see past the dog's ridiculously fluffy fur, Harry wasn't too sure. Occasionally, Toby would raise his head and try to nibble on Sans' femur, being was quickly stopped with a light flick to the nose.

"you gonna just stand there and stare or are you going to come down here and watch bad TV with me?"

The wizard jumped, but relaxed after a moment. He waved absently, padding down the stairs at a slow pace. He was still reeling from the impromptu hang out with Papyrus.

Toby yapped and sprung off of Sans' chest like it was a springboard, the small dog flying towards him. Harry quickly snatched up the crazy canine, hugging him to his chest. "What are you doing, hmm?"

Bark.

His skeletal companion chuckled, sitting up finally. The band aid had been taken off, Harry noticed, and the bone where it used to be was healed as if nothing happened. Sans noticed the stare and rolled his eyes, patting the seat next to him. "c'mon, shorty, you're killing me."

Harry huffed, walking over to the couch and sitting down gingerly. Nothing happened. Harry sighed in relief, relaxing. He was almost afraid Sans was going to prank him.

"what do you peg me for? it's at grillby's you need to watch your seat for whoopee cushions." Sans scoffed. Harry stuck out his tongue, ignoring the jolt when Sans did the same (although it might have been more effective of a childish gesture on end, it did not look too childish of Sans.)

"You've pranked me before, you doof. I'm never gonna be not wary of this."

It was quiet for a while except the drone of the TV before Harry spoke again.

"Hey... I think I'm gonna head on sometime soon. That doesn't mean I want to, though! There's... there's something I need to do." Harry hastily explained, seeing the slightly sad look on Sans' face. The skeleton forced a grin (and isn't that ironic?), regardless, at that. "yeah, i believe, shorty. when are you going to go?"

"...today, I think. I think I could love being here, but... again, there's something I need to do." Harry felt full of determination. He remembered the memories, and resolutely nodded to himself. He could never let that happen again.

He was unaware of the appraising look Sans sent him way, but he didn't miss the strong feeling of determination conjuring up a **SAVE** point.

**"(The thought of saving everyone from genocide... it fills you with DETERMINATION. HP fully restored.)"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, seriously, WHO IS LEADING YOU HERE?!?
> 
> I have OVER 1,500 hits and 100 kudos. SERIOUSLY. I LOVE YOU GUYS.
> 
> If anyone wants to hit me up for a chat, you can find me at scrumptious-nerdy-cupcake on tumblr! I'm also working on making a sin blog, which we will not speak of unless the SECRET PASSWORD (//cough// i'm the legendary fartmaster //cough//) is spoken.
> 
> This chapter was a pain, but I loved writing it. <3 Cute bbys.
> 
> (Also, is the formatting bugging anyone? I think it sometimes gets a bit weird and I do occasionally miss formatting issues, so. //shrug//)
> 
> Anyways, let me know if I missed a tag/should consider an idea you have for this fic (I love when you guys suggest stuff)/or just generally want to say something. ^-^
> 
> Cheers! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em


	9. Warm and Fuzzy Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's finally (kind of) getting out of Snowdin. Well. I mean. I tried to get him out. But he wanted to go to Grillby's so bear with me.

The house was a bit quieter than Harry was used to.

Papyrus had reappeared after some time, looking a bit sad when he learned that Harry was leaving. He had seemed upset, but the skeleton nodded and said he understood. Harry would have loved to stay with them, but... he had to free them all. He had to get back to Teddy.

There was a flurry of noise all of a sudden from Papyrus' room, and Harry blinked as Toby tore down the stairs, a bright yellow... thing in his mouth.

"ACK! HARRY'S DOG, BRING THAT BACK! I KNOW THAT YOU'RE EXCITED, BUT YOU'LL- RUIN... THE... SURPRISE..." Papyrus' voice faltered as he realized that the dog had brought the yellow item to Harry. He awkwardly shifted, opening his mouth and shutting it several times before he spoke. "AHEM, WELL... SURPRISE? I GOT YOU SOME THINGS FOR YOU THAT YOU'LL NEED WHEN YOU'RE IN WATERFALL!"

The wizard curiously stooped down, tugging the item from Toby's mouth. The little dog grinned and released it, prancing around excitedly with little yaps and yips. Looks like someone was happy with it, anyways.

It was a little yellow rain jacket, perfectly sized for Toby. Harry smiled, his heart warming as he carefully folded it. It was soft on the inside, but rubbery on the outside. It didn't look too warm. Waterfall must be warmer than Snowdin, then.

"This is great, Papyrus! Thank you." Harry beamed, hugging the skeleton loosely. Papyrus stuttered, but finally bony arms quickly wrapped around his back and squeezed back, gently.

"IT'S NOTHING! THAT'S JUST ONE THING! I THOUGHT YOU WOULDN'T WANT YOUR FURRY FRIEND TO BE WET!" Papyrus beamed, racing back up the stairs.

Harry gave an amused look to Toby, beaming. The tiny dog wagged his tail, prancing around happily. "He's just a giant cinnamon roll, isn't he?"

Yap!

\---------------------------------

"I don't think I'm ever going to be able to repay you for all of this, Papyrus, this is amazing...!"

The skeleton beamed, chest puffed out.

It turns out, Papyrus was pretty much a master gifter. He'd gotten some tiny rain boots for Toby to match the rain coat, a pair of rain boots for Harry (how he even got his shoe size, Harry would never know), and a packet of hot chocolate mix. He'd even managed to sneakily water-proof his backpack while Harry was busy. That's not counting the bracelet he'd decided to get for Harry; it was simple, a loose silver chain with two bone pendants attached. One was bright blue and shorter, the other a bright orange and taller. There was also a small white paw print charm added to it.

Harry grinned, jangling the pendants again before launching himself at Papyrus. The skeleton made a startled noise, but hugged him back cheerfully. His cheeks started to hurt with how much he was smiling. "Thanks, Papyrus! Thank you so much!"

"IT WAS NOTHING! YOU DON'T NEED TO THANK ME!" Papyrus insisted, and Harry snorted before releasing him. "Yeah, yeah I do. You're the best, Paps."

The wizard grinned, feeling warm and mushy. He blamed... something. He just felt really gushy.

Papyrus beamed, helping Harry gather up his stuff. Sans had vanished a while ago, saying he had to go to his job before skedaddling out. They made short work of packing up.

\---------------------------------

Harry startled as he was picked up in a giant hug.

"Huh...? Hey, what's this, Paps?" Harry queried softly, those stupid weird mothering instincts rising up again. He let them more or less run free as he hugged back, concern welling up.

"I'M GOING TO MISS YOU; I... I'VE NEVER REALLY HAD A FRIEND LIKE YOU BEFORE. EVEN IF YOU DO HAPPEN TO LIKE SANS." The wizard bit back a sigh at the Sans comment. This was going to hang over his head forever, wasn't it.

"Hey, hey, you're acting like I'm never going to come back, Paps. I'll always come back; I promise. I'm told I'm a bit too determined and lucky to die, you know. I haven't yet, so I think they might be onto something." Harry joked lightly, leaning back to peer at Papyrus. The skeleton sighed, slowly releasing him. He kinda missed the comfort of the hug already, but he had to get going before he ended up staying here forever. He had to get everyone out of here.

Papyrus sighed, phalanges tugging at his scarf in a childish gesture. He seemed unsure, and... was that worry on his face? "I JUST WORRY... I KNOW THAT... IF YOU GET CAUGHT... YOU MIGHT NOT COME BACK FROM IT."

Harry's stomach twisted at that. Even though Papyrus didn't quite say he knew that if Harry was caught he would die, he did say that he knew that Harry wouldn't come back from it. The wizard opened his mouth to speak, to say anything to make the silence go away, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth, feeling like he had swallowed a bunch of fur, and tried to speak again.

"Paps... I... I'll come back. I promise. If anything, I'll come back just to show you I'll come back." Harry said, his voice a bit shaky. He tried to smile, but it was little more than a grimace. Papyrus smiled, a small thing, but a smile. It was better than the forlorn look he had earlier. "I BELIEVE YOU, HARRY... I'M GOING TO CALL YOU LOTS, THOUGH! AND IF YOU EVER NEED HELP, CALL ME! I'LL GET SANS IF I CAN'T HELP, HE'LL PROBABLY KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

Thank Merlin. Harry hated it was Papyrus got sad; it was odd and tugged at his heartstrings. He grinned, feeling less forced now that the serious air had mostly vanished. "I'll look forward to it, Paps. I think you'll be the best guide ever on how to do this stuff."

"I WOULD HOPE SO! I AM A PUZZLE MASTER, IF I CAN'T SOLVE IT, I'M NOT SURE WHO CAN!" Papyrus declared, puffing up his chest in pride. Toby yapped in agreement from by their feet, eagerly rushing in circles around the two. Harry snickered and adjusted his grip on his bag. "I don't think anybody would be able to solve a puzzle that you can't, Papyrus."

"I THINK YOU SHOULD HEAD OUT NOW; I DON'T THINK MANY MONSTERS SHOULD BE ABOUT RIGHT NOW. WELL, SANS MIGHT BE AT HIS SENTRY POST UP AHEAD. HE MIGHT BE AT GRILLBY'S, BUT I SHOULD HOPE HE ISN'T SHIRKING HIS DUTIES LIKE HE USUALLY DOES!" Papyrus huffed, gently ushering Harry out the door. Toby took off as soon as the door opened, tearing through the snow drifts that had piled up since last night. The wizard turned his head back to look at Papyrus, smiling gently as the skeleton fussed a bit. "Thanks, Papyrus. I'll be back in a wink, I promise. Maybe we can do the whole befriending thing with Undyne, yeah? She sounds like a pretty cool lady."

"YES, UNDYNE IS VERY COOL! BUT I DO NOT THINK SHE IS MUCH OF A LADY. SHE TAKES OFFENSE TO BEING CALLED ONE AND PREFERS TO BE CALLED 'JUST ONE OF THE GUYS'. I WONDER WHY? WE'RE REALLY NOTHING SPECIAL." Harry laughed, relaxing slightly. Snow was fluttering down from the ceiling, fat little things that melted as soon as they touched Harry. Though, they stuck to Toby.

Papyrus smiled before starting to walk off away from where Waterfall was. "I NEED TO RE-CALIBRATE MY TRAPS BEFORE I MEET UP WITH UNDYNE! I'LL CALL YOU LATER, HARRY!"

And with that, the skeleton ran off. Harry smiled, his heart clenching briefly before he turned with a sigh. The air was crisp, Harry noted, as he started the trek to Waterfall. Toby padded alongside him, occasionally rushing off to sniff something before coming back. It was a nice day, really.

Soon enough, they came to the foggy area where Harry had battled Papyrus. The fog was still thick, but quickly faded away. The snow started to melt and the ground seemed to slowly get lusher, thicker, than before. The air got steadily warmer, and damper. It was a slightly better sight than the cold temperatures of Snowdin.

Up ahead, Harry could just glimpse a sentry station. Toby apparently noticed this too, as the dog tore off with a series of high pitched barks. Harry grinned, speeding up his pace to a brisk walk. He could just hear a familiar voice laughing, and little happy yaps.

Sans was laughing as Toby stood on top of the station's counter, the little guy wriggling excitedly and licking cheerfully at his skull. "aw, come on ya crazy mutt, i just saw you not too long ago, give a guy a break!"

The wizard snickered, and Sans cracked open a socket lid to peer at him. "ey, princess, come rescue me from your crazy dog, wouldja?"

Harry folded his arms, grinning cheekily as he pretended to think on it. "Hmm, what do I get, captain cuddles?"

"i'll take ya to grillby's, just get him offa me, please shorty, otherwise i'll be in the dog house for sure!" Sans joked, trying to hold Toby back. Harry cracked a smile at that but he walked over and picked up Toby, the small dog ceasing his wriggling but giving Harry a betrayed look.

Sans huffed dramatically, getting up from his stool (which remarkably hadn't been knocked down in the assault) with his customary speed of a narcoleptic snail. "well, if you insist... i'll pry myself away from my work..."

The skeleton shuffled out from behind his station, offering a hand with a crooked grin. Warily, Harry took it, and was bewildered when Sans started walking away from Grillby's. "over here, i know a shortcut."

Harry raised an eyebrow and startled when all of a sudden his senses were invaded with warmth, the smell of food, and talking. He felt mildly disoriented, clenching his hand around the bony one in a brief panic.

"fast shortcut, huh?" Sans murmured, gently squeezing Harry's hand. The wizard nodded shakily, glancing around the bar. Dogamy and Dogaressa were together at a table with Doggo and Greater Dog, a bunny that looked a bit comically drunk and a monster that looked rather like a giant Venus flytrap was at one table to the right, Lesser Dog was in the back at a table by itself apparently playing some sort of card game alone, and at the bar was a fish monster, a bird monster, and a horse-like monster. Behind the bar was a monster that was made out of flame; that must be Grillby, Harry mused. The establishment itself was warm and inviting, and Harry felt like this was a place where you could come to relax with friends and joke around, maybe play some card games. It felt like it.

"hey, everyone." Sans said, waving flippantly. Dogamy and Dogaressa perked up, smiling. "Hey, Sans. (Hi, Sans.)"

The plant monster bobbed in place, giving a quick 'greetings', and the bunny giggled and peered up, twitching their ears. "Hiya, Sansy~"

The fish dude by the bar made a confused face, tilting his head. "Hey Sans, weren't you just here for breakfast a few minutes ago?"

Sans shook his head, grinning brightly. He seemed in his element in the bar.

"nah, i haven't had breakfast in at least half an hour. you must be thinking of brunch." The skeleton made a grand gesture at that, eyes bright. The room was full of laughter at that, the dogs howling in laughter and the other monsters laughing a bit more reservedly (except for the bunny, of course, they were laughing like it was the funniest thing they've ever heard.)

Wordlessly, Sans nudged Harry forward to two bar stools. Harry followed at a sedate pace, Toby prancing around by his heels. The skeleton plopped down onto the right one, gesturing at the one of the left with a crooked grin. "here, get comfy."

The wizard felt like something was going to happen.

He was right, Harry mentally groaned when a fart noise sounded. He glared at Sans, lifting his butt off the stool and picking up the deflated whoopee cushion. Sans grinned, eyes alight. "whoops, watch where you sit down. sometimes weirdos put whoopee cushions on the seats."

"I'll show you a weirdo," Harry grumbled, tossing it at Sans. He deftly caught it in a hand, shoving it into his pocket. It didn't bulge, surprisingly. Sans pouted a bit at his words, but the slightly upturned corners of his grin and bright eyes gave him away.

"anyways, let's order. whaddya want, shorty?"

Harry blinked, furrowing his eyebrows. Sans rolled his eyes, nodding his head. "burger or fries, sorry, forgot you haven't been here."

The wizard huffed, but quickly decided. "A burger, I think."

Sans nodded in agreement, making a motion towards Grillby. The bartender glanced over, pausing his cleaning of a glass. "grillby, we'll have a double order of burg."

The flame monster set down the glass with a crackling noise and went into a door, and before it shut Harry was able to glimpse some counters. It was quiet for a moment before Sans spoke up again, drumming his fingers on the bar.

"so, what do you think... of my brother?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the question. Okay, seriously, what is with people these days, asking if he was interested in people? "Uh, Sans, you do know I don't like him like that, right?"

Sans choked on air for a moment, wheezing, when he caught onto what Harry was thinking. "oh stars not like that, princess! get your head outta the gutter! just, is he cool or not?"

"Cool, definitely cool." Harry smiled, amused at Sans' reaction. The skeleton heaved a sigh, dramatically, chuckling. "of course he's cool. you'd be cool too if you wore that outfit every day. he'd only take that thing off if he absolutely had to. oh well. at least he washes it. and by that, i mean he wears it in the shower."

"Sans," Harry snickered. "That's mean, come on, don't be mean to Papyrus."

The skeleton shrugged and was saved from replying by the door opening. Harry blinked when a ketchup bottle was held out to him, Sans' grin a dead giveaway that it was a prank. "here comes the grub. want some ketchup?"

"Nah, I'm good." Harry said, slightly distracted by the burger placed in front of him. It smelled delicious.

"more for me." Sans chuckled, and when Harry glanced around to see what he was doing, Harry's mouth dropped open. Sans was quite literally chugging down the bottle of ketchup.

"Sans, come on, that's gross mate," Harry whined. Blah. How could he drink all of that?!

Sans grinned, blue tongue making an appearance to lick off a speck of ketchup. "nah, it's ketchup. whaddya take me for, an idiot?"

Harry sighed, shaking his head. Why did he always get stuck with the weird ones? The wizard steadfastly ignored Sans scratching his bony arse and actually started to eat. The burger was just as delicious as it looked, Harry quickly realized. Damn, this was some good food.

"anyways, cool or not, you have to agree. papyrus tries real hard. like how he keeps trying to be part of the royal guard."

Toby yapped somewhere by his feet, and Harry idly broke off a bit of the burger and reached down. A furry muzzle butted against his hand and Harry snickered as he heard Toby pretty much wolf down the morsel. Sans smiled, but continued to speak. "one day, he went to the house of the head of the royal guard..."

Sans took a deep breath before he continued. "...and begged her to let him be in it. of course, she shut the door on him because it was midnight."

Grr. Just because Papyrus showed up at midnight did not mean you got to slam the door in his face. "but then the next day, she woke up and saw him still waiting there. seeing his dedication, she decided to give him warrior training."

That's better. Looks like Undyne wont get a bad time for slamming the door on Papyrus after all.

"it's, uh, still a work in progress." Harry felt a bit guilty at feeling relieved about that. Papyrus was much too kind to be a guard... damn it he felt guilty as all hell.

His skeletal companion got quiet, and Harry felt like time was slowing. Everything outside of Sans' and his own bubble seemed to get quiet and dim.

"oh, yeah, i wanted to ask you something. have you ever heard of a talking flower?"

All the blood seemed to drain from his face. Sans' brows raised at that, sweat beading his skull. Harry quickly responded, shaky. Why was he being asked this? "Um, uh, yeah."

The _'it wouldn't happen to be yellow and an asshat'_ went unsaid.

"so you know all about it. the echo flower. they're all over the marsh. say something to them, and they'll repeat it over and over..."

Apparently, Sans didn't know about Flowey. Huh. Well, there is a chance he's lying. It was an unpleasant thought and it made Harry's chest hurt to think about, but... it wasn't to be so quickly ruled out.

"Why am I being asked this?"

"well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day. sometimes, when no one is around... a flower appears and whispers things to him." Oh hell no. Flowey had better not have gone even a hundred feet near the precious cinnamon roll or Harry would personally rip him into fucking shreds and dance on his mangled flower corpse.

"flattery... advice... encouragement..." Sans got quiet and Harry got even more pissed. "...predictions. weird, huh?"

"Yeah," Harry ground out through clenched teeth. The flowery fuck better watch out. Nobody messed with Papyrus without any repercussions.

"somebody must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him. keep an eye out, ok? thanks." Sans said, light-hearted voice forced. Harry could tell that he knew Harry was seething and did not want to piss him off.

After a few moments of silence, Sans polished off his burger and stood up. Quickly, as to not be left behind, Harry wolfed down the remaining food on his plate. Sans snickered, but waited. "welp. that was a long break. i can't believe i let you pull me away from work for that long."

The skeleton started to stride towards the door, Harry and Toby on his heels, before he paused and looked back with a saccharine grin. "oh, by the way..."

Here we go again.

"i'm flat broke. can you foot the bill? it's just 10000G." Harry sputtered, eyes wide. What even?! "Fuck no Sans, you gotta be absolutely barmy if you think I have that much gold on me."

Toby yapped in agreement, flashing his canines at the skeleton. Sans quickly made a pacifying gesture, chuckling. "just kidding. grillby, put it on my tab."

The flame monster made a crackling sound and didn't even bother to note it down. Harry chuckled before hurrying after Sans, wincing at the abrupt change of temperature. Brr. It was freezing!

Sans offered a bony hand silently as they moved on, and Harry sighed before accepting it.

They were just getting past the foggy area before Sans spoke again. He looked a little shaky. "by the way..."

"Hmm?"

"...i was going to say something, but i forgot. i'm a real _empty-headed_ , huh?"

Harry sighed, silently cursing. But, he was curious... what was he going to say?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got sick over the weekend so I'm really sorry this is a shorter chapter than usual, but it's rather hard to focus on writing when your head feels like it's going to explode and you just generally feel like shit. ;P
> 
> I hope you still enjoyed this chapter, though. It might not be my usual quality or length, but I tried to make it at least not-cringe worthy.
> 
> Cheers! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em


	10. Wishing Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Waterfall exploration and Harry's first death. (Also known as THE ANGST IS ALIIIIIIVE and we earn the Major Character Death tag)

"alright princess, get outta here before i sweep you up and take ya home."

Harry huffed, but smiled regardless. Toby barked, the small dog wagging his tail excitedly as he circled the wizard and the skeleton. When Sans went to move back to his stand, Toby barked in annoyance and peeled back his lips in a growl. A tiny, completely non-threatening growl, but when you're made of bones, Harry supposed a dog eyeing you up like you're breakfast is pretty damn threatening.

"aw, come on ya little vulture, whaddya want now?" Sans grumbled, huffing out a breath. Harry snickered, hiding his smile with a hand. Oh boy, this'll be good, he noted. The small dog yapped, shoving his fluffy head against Sans' fibula and knocking him forward with a startling display of strength. Or maybe it was the fact that Sans wasn't really expecting it. Either way, Sans got shoved forward... right into Harry.

The wizard's breath was knocked out of him as he was sent reeling backwards, gravity betraying him as he fell. Sans quickly rolled them as if this was some dramatic movie where he had to be the perfect princess who took a relatively short fall just to be a gentleman. Harry would have laughed at the comparison if he wasn't a bit more startled by the whole scenario in the first place. Whoever was in charge of this story should be whacked; the fates were completely against him and he didn't like it.

 _Thump._ The two landed on the ground in a small heap, much to Harry's displeasure. Said wizard wanted to sigh when he realized the position they were in. (Well, basically it was much too close, but the tiny things were irksome. Yes. Irksome. Not at all pleasing or shower-worthy thought inducing. Not at all.)

Sans was on his back, hands resting on Harry's shoulders where he had grabbed him. Harry himself was on top, knees resting on the outside of Sans' femurs (and oh Merlin his face burned at that), hands on either side of Sans' shoulders. The skeleton's grin was missing, looking a bit startled and embarrassed at the position if the bright blue flush on his face was any clue. Sweat beaded on his skull, dripping down a bit. (He could almost hear Hermione ranting about 'scientifically impossible' and other nonsense.) Harry opened his mouth to say something, anything, but closed it. Their faces were so close he could feel Sans' slightly quickened breath ghosting over his lips and if he _just_ leaned forward a _little_ bit he could...

Thankfully, those dangerous thoughts were quickly distracted from by the armless monster kid giggling. Harry quickly looked up, startled into laughter at the sight he saw. What in the world?

Toby was hopping around on his back legs, wriggling excitedly and grinning the biggest doggy grin that Harry has ever seen. He's never seen a dog look so proud of himself before. Of course, the tiny dog stopped when he noticed he was being laughed at. Toby whined when he noticed Harry's attention on him, stretching out his front legs and sighing before shoving his face into the ground. He looked pretty annoyed. (And isn't that ironic?)

Sans chuckled, the vibrations jolting Harry into peering back at the skeleton. Right. Forgotten about that. The skeleton grinned, bony fingers teasing over his cheek (when had they moved from his shoulders?)

"gonna get up, princess?" Sans questioned, fingers resting on his cheeks and a thumb brushing over his blush as if it'd make it vanish. His phalanges felt oddly warm and soft, the bone gentle. Harry nodded, averting his eyes awkwardly as he sat up. His cheeks burned at the tenderness of the touch. His stomach was in knots as the wizard quickly got to his feet, offering a hand to the skeleton.

Sans took the offered hand, and Harry blinked as Sans gave him a crooked grin. But no comment. It was disorienting.

"i'll see ya later, right shorty?" Sans asked as he lazily brushed off the dirt on his jacket. Harry had a hard time focusing on his words when he watched his hands pick off the dirt; it was fascinating, the way the bony fingers moved despite the lack of joints. The wizard nodded, forgetting that Sans wasn't watching. When the skeleton looked at him with an expectant look, Harry startled before verbally agreeing.

He's a mess and wants to slap whoever came up with this whole situation.

Sans snickered, rolling his eyes (a feat, considering). "geez, lighten up a bit."

Harry huffed, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out. It was childish, yes, but at the same time he had no idea what could possibly make this better. "I can be as grumpy as I want, Sans."

"alright, alright, now get outta here before your crazy dog decides to do something." Sans grinned, waggling his weird skeleton eyebrows. "i'll start to think you like me otherwise."

If Harry quickly set off again and seemed a bit flustered, Sans had _great_ fun retelling the exact detail later to Grillby.

\---------------------------------

Harry frowned at the ominous feeling the room gave him.

After a few tentative steps, he could just make out Papyrus' voice floating down from the area above the hallway. "H...HI UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT..."

Toby softly barked, and the wizard snapped to attention and quickly slipped after the tiny dog. Toby hid in a large patch of grass, and Harry frowned but followed. He winced as the grass brushed his face; it was surprisingly harsh and had a bit of a bite when the stalks scraped his cheeks.

"UHHH... REGARDING THAT HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER..." What? Harry strained his ears to be able to listen. He couldn't make out Undyne's response.

"...HUH? DID I FIGHT HIM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT HIM VALIENTLY!" Harry smiled to himself at the proud response Papyrus gave. Same old Papyrus. There was a sharp response, and the wizard felt his eye twitch.

"...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE HIM...? W-W-WELL... NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END... I FAILED."

Oh, no, Papyrus. Harry frowned, wishing he could comfort the downtrodden sounding skeleton. He sounded so sad... There was a response, and Harry still couldn't quite make out the words. "...W-WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN'S SOUL YOURSELF... BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE... YOU SEE..."

Harry could just barely hear Papyrus now, the skeleton's voice going a bit lower as he fumbled for a response. He winced in sympathy for Papyrus. There was a harsh response, the angry tone just able to be heard. Harry grit his teeth. _Nobody_ talked to Papyrus like that.

"...I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN." Harry sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. He felt like that wasn't quite the truth. Papyrus had sounded hesitent, and slightly shifty. Harry was almost proud of Papyrus if he actually lied. He doubted that he did, though. Probably just told a half truth, but that's still something to be proud of since most people would assume Papyrus is too innocent to even do a half truth.

He carefully started to trod through the grass, wrinkling his nose at the stench coming from them. It smelled like seaweed. He winced at the loud rustling noises the grass made.

There was a clanking of armor, and Harry quickly stopped moving and peered up at the ledge in worry. He squinted and could just make out the imposing figure crouching at the edge of the ledge, a bright blue spear clenched in a hand. Harry stayed still, his heart beating a mile a minute. 'Please don't see me, please don't see me', he mentally chanted. Maybe if he said it enough it'd come true.

The figure make an annoyed sound and stood up, walking off loudly.

After staying still for a moment, Harry felt like it was safe to move again. Toby barked and tore out of the grass, yipping and lolling his tongue. There was a giggle and the armless kid ran came out of the grass as well, excitedly running in circles. "Yo! Did you see the way she was staring at you...? That... was AWESOME! I'm SOOOOO jealous! What'd you do to get her attention...? Ha ha!"

Harry snickered, brushing off his pants and jacket with an easy-going grin. "Dunno, kiddo. Aren't you supposed to be in Snowdin?"

The kid stopped spinning in circles, blushing and ducking their head. "Uh, kinda. Don't tell my parents? They totally don't know I'm out here. But yo! Let's go watch Undyne beat up bad guys!"

They turned around and started to run off, only to trip on their feet and face plant. The wizard made to help them up, but they quickly got up on their own and ran off. Harry raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and started walking again. Toby wagged his tail from beside him, maw pulled up in a doggy grin.

He grimaced as a telltale sparkle glittered in his peripheral vision. Right. **SAVE** points.

Harry gave a long suffering sigh and headed to the **SAVE** point, internally ranting about 'stupid video game stuff'. Well, it's not like you can blame him. It's not every day you get shoved through time and space into a video game.

**"(A feeling of dread hangs over you... but you stay determined. HP fully restored.)"**

"Stating the obvious as usual, huh?" Harry chuckled, irritation fading slightly. Toby huffed, sticking his tongue out at the wizard.

Harry chuckled and reached down to pat Toby before starting to walk again.

\---------------------------------

Harry smiled and moved on to read the sign, raising an eyebrow. "' _When four bridge seeds align in the water, they will sprout.'_ Handy."

Toby snuffled in agreement, sneezing as he sniffed one of the seeds. They were as big as Toby, Harry noted with more than a little amusement. He walked over to the nearest bridge seed and picked it up, noting that it was fairly light for it's size. It felt rubbery as well.

Carefully, he walked back over to the hole between the hallway and gently set the bridge seed down on the surface of the water. It floated over to the other end, bobbing slightly. He repeated this with the next three seeds, and watched in awe as they bloomed. The vines from each fused together to create a sturdy pathway, and the giant pink and white petals looking like they were made of iron or something but still beautiful.

Harry glanced back at Toby, grinning in amazement. "This is bloody _awesome_ , 'By."

The little dog barked happily and ran across the bridge, eagerly prancing around. Harry smiled and quickly ducked back and SAVE'd before shrugging the straps of his backpack so they weren't cutting into his shoulders and set off again.

The next room was of a similar caliber; except, much larger.

Ring ring.

Harry swore, quickly fumbling for his phone (he'd placed it in one of the many hidden pockets on the coat). He quickly extracted it from the coat, placing it against his ear."Hello?"

"HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!!"

The wizard blinked in surprise, smiling regardless. "Hey! How'd you get my number, I thought I forgot to give you it?"

Papyrus seemed to puff up on the other end. "IT WAS EASY!!! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT TO YOURS!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Harry snickered, grinning at the thought of Papyrus dialing every single number in the underground calling for him. "SO... WHAT ARE YOU WEARING...?"

He adruptly stopped snickering. He flushed, stuttering uselessly for a minute. "Uh, (cough) why, Paps?"

"I'M ASKING FOR A FRIEND. SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW YOU WEARING A BANDANNA. IT THAT TRUE? ARE YOU WEARING A BANDANNA?"

The wizard paused, frowning as he tried to figure out what to say. Finally, he nodded... and sighed when he realized that Papyrus couldn't see him. "Yeah, Papyrus."

"SO YOU ARE WEARING A BANDANNA... GOT IT!!! WINK WINK!!! HAVE A NICE DAY!" _Click._

Harry blinked in surprise, raising an eyebrow at the 'wink wink' business. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair tiredly, pulling off the bandanna and glaring at it. He quickly pulled out his wand, shrugging at the incredulous look Toby gave him. "I've got nothing to lose, 'By."

He floundered for something to Transfigure the bandanna into, finally settling on a scarf. It physically hurt to transfigure the bandanna, aggressive pains shooting in his body, and the scarf was more of a light blue then he had been going for, but otherwise it was pretty cuddly and nice.

Toby cocked his head to the side before sneezing, shaking his head as he wandered off to poke at the bridge seeds. He seemed to be amused, anyways.

Harry felt faint, but shrugged through it and kept walking towards the bridge seeds.

This puzzle was slightly more difficult, Harry noted as he carried over a bridge seed, but not too complex. And, according to the sign, he could call them back by ringing the bell. Handy.

He blinked as a small, almost hidden alcove caught his attention. The wizard was torn, but sighed and decided to resummon the bridge seeds and check it out.

The bell clanged loudly and in a blink of an eye the seeds were back. Harry was able to quickly construct a bridge to the alcove. Stepping onto the large petals, Harry furrowed his eyebrow at the single echo flower and bench.

Toby whuffed and snuffled under the bench, resurfacing with a nearly perfect quiche in his mouth. It'd been left here. Harry frowned again, but took the offered quiche.

A whisper caught his attention; he jerked as he realized it was coming from the echo flower. He had thought it was silent.

" _i just wasn't ready for the_ _responsibility_ ," an overly familiar voice said. Harry froze, looking at the flower desperately, as if it'd continue to talk. But the flower fell silent again.

Toby made a quiet noise, sitting down in front of him and staring up at him. Bark?

The wizard shook himself, sighing and reaching down to pet the tiny ball of fluff. "It's nothing; let's keep moving, alright, 'By?"

Yap! Toby took off to the main room and Harry sighed as he followed.

\---------------------------------

" _'Wishing Room,'_ huh?" Harry murmured as they entered the next hallway. Sparkling stones glittered brightly from the ceiling, and echo flowers whispered to themselves. Toby stayed quiet, but wagged his tail and led the way to the flower closest to the door.

_"A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky. If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true. Now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling..."_

Harry sucked in a breath, wincing at the thought. To one day be able to look at the stars and the next, only have faint mimicries to compare. The stones were beautiful, of course, but, they didn't truly compare to the stars. The wizard moved onto the next flower. This one pulled at his heartstrings.

 _"Thousands of people wishing together can't be wrong! The king will prove that."_ The voice sounded like they were trying to stay positive. Harry rubbed at his chest and moved on.

The next one wasn't any better. _"C'mon sis! Make a wish!"_

Monster Kid. The flower next to it seemed to have been spoke too earlier as their voice floated out of it. _"I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday..."_

The wizard took a shuddering breath, overcome with emotion. These kids should be looking through telescopes are actual stars, knowing the constellations and being able to sing that stupid annoying song from that movie with the puppet who became a boy. They shouldn't have to wish on dead rocks on a cold stone ceiling.

The last echo flower was fairly funny. But kinda depressing. _"Ah... seems my horoscope is the same as last week's..."_

Harry sighed and walked over to the telescope. He was curious what the rocks looked like up close.

Huh? There was writing on the telescope's lens; 'check wall'? That was odd. Harry made a confused noise and straightened up, walking to the supposed dead end... it rumbled under his finger tips, falling away to reveal another room. Strange.

Toby yapped and padded into the room, the clicking of his claws muffled by the plastic boots he wore. The walls had softly glowing writing on them in little segments... Harry slowly strode over to the first one, filled with curiosity. He squinted at the writing, barely able to decipher it. _"The War of Humans and Monsters."_

There was nothing else on that tablet. Harry moved onto the next.

 _"Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed like they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. It would take the SOUL of nearly every monster... just to equal the SOUL of a single human."_ Huh. Harry felt the niggle of unease bite at him more, but still continued to read the next tablet. _"'But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their SOUL. It's power allows it to persist out of the human body, even after death."_

That's... interesting. Would have been useful to know this when fighting Voldemort, Harry supposed. He continued to read, the writing steadily getting easier to read as he adjusted to it. "If a monster defeats a human, they can take its SOUL. A monster with a human SOUL... a horrible beast with unfathomable power."

Harry felt a shiver run up his spine at the thought. He'd hate for his soul to be taken. Harry moved onto the next tablet, only to shudder at the image depicted. There's something unsettling about that picture, Harry decided with a grimace.

Because there were no tablets left, Harry quickly picked up Toby and did the logical thing and stepped onto the platform. It instantly whirred to life, nearly startling him into dropping off at the jolt it gave before carrying the two over.

Harry felt uneasy as he set Toby down and started to walk into the next hallway.

The room was dark, a haunting aura over the room. All of the echo flowers were unerringly silent, and it put him on edge. Toby whimpered almost soundlessly, the dog pressing against his leg. The wizard glanced down at the little guy, wincing at the frightened body langauge the dog was displaying.

"It'll be okay," he murmured gently. Toby relaxed a bit, but stuck close as the two moved on.

There was a clank, and that was all the warning the two got until a spear crashed into the planks in front of Harry. The wizard cursed, breaking into a sprint.

"RUN!" Harry ordered, his insides twisting. For fucks sake, could he just go through an area _without_ something wanting to kill him!? Toby barked shrilly and took off in front of him, the wizard relieved that he seemed to know what to do.

A blue spear materialized and was thrown towards him, Harry cursing and quickly ducking down to avoid it. It screamed over him, just missing, and landed somewhere next to him. Harry started running again, his heart in his throat. His earlier burst of magic had left him feeling drained, and the feeling intensified as he tore through the marshes. The towering figure from before was back and chasing them.

Finally, he tripped.

He crashed into the ground, feeling winded as he scrabbled to stand up. Everything seemed to slow as a sharp, stabbing pain crashed into his back. Pain exploded across his body, his legs instantly going numb and his middle back on fire with pain. He gasped for breath, his lungs screaming. His hands clenched involuntarily into the ground, his breathing ragged. He could feel the heavy weight of the spear until it vanished, allowing him to roll over and grasp uselessly at the bloody hole in his stomach. His guts spilled from it, crimson staining his hands as he tried to keep them in place.

Toby whimpered, the small dog crawling towards him on his stomach. Harry tried to form words, mouth uselessly opening and shutting. But he couldn't do it. It felt like they were stuck in his throat. Toby whined, licking his cheek.

"G... Get o-outta here, 'By," Harry managed to cough out, the heady taste of copper heavy on his tongue. He licked his lips shakily, breath rattling in his chest. It hurt so much, he just wanted it to end. The small dog whined again, curling up beside his cheek and making small, miserable noises.

Everything was getting fuzzy, Harry noted. Everything was becoming number, darker. He could just see the hulking figure stomping over, blue spear in hand, heavy steps causing vibrations in the wood under his cheek. They stopped just at his feet, the spear poised. There was a pause before a voice spoke. "I'm sorry."

The spear crashed through his chest despite Toby's shrill howl of protest and he felt an all-encompassing pain as his soul _shattered._

\---------------------------------

He jerked as he was _shoved_ back into his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally earned the Major Character Death tag, I think.
> 
> I'm going to warn you now, there's a panic attack up ahead so if this will trigger you, please. Don't read it. It's in the beginning of the next chapter, but it's over pretty fast.
> 
> I just cleaned up this chapter, so I hope I did well! I really enjoyed writing the Wishing Room scene and the Quiche scene. I'm not sure if it was ever specified if the quiche did belong to Sans, but Papyrus mentioned him making a weird quiche so I'm rolling with it... plus it sounds like an awfully Sans thing to say, the responsibility thing.
> 
> We're gonna see lots of the bony arse next chapter, for warning. CAN'T SINK THIS SUBMARINE THROUGH NEGLECTING ANY SCENES! (Geddit? 'Cause it's an unknown ship so it's a submarine and YOU CAN'T SINK WHAT WAS NEVER FLOATING MOTHERFRICKERS! //cough// I'm into it okay)
> 
> I've gotten onto Vent by the way so if you want to talk you can find me as 'Scuffs' and I'm really chatty but right now my phone is without data but I'M WORKING ON IT
> 
> Also I went back to school and stopped home tutoring and my relationship with my best friend is she wont punch me and I wont punch her but we'll both sell each other on Ebay if we betray each other. ;P I know the best people honestly. And I made a few friends! Well. I know I made one, not too sure about the others. Art's fun and so is library.
> 
> Anyways, cheers! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em
> 
> (I'm also completely rehauling the tags I've given up they're out of control)


	11. Feelin' a little Panicky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, before we get into any shenanigans... there's a panic attack. It's probably horribly written, but I tried, and don't want anyone to get triggered anyways. You can start reading at the marked spot, which is hopefully trigger-less. I think so. Pretty sure.
> 
> I caved, by the way. You also have a short kiss scene to make up for it at the end. And Hermione. And some Gaster.
> 
> Y'know what? Just. Read it. I worked my ass off on this one.

His breaths started to come in short gasps as he realized what happened.

He died oh fucking hell he fucking died and shit his soul was throbbing _and HE DIED HE DIED HE DIED **HE FUCKED UP HE DIED**_

His chest heaved in panic as Harry backed up against the wall, wheezing in fear. He stared in front of him, reliving the spear piercing his back and the agony of his guts spilling out his stomach. He shook as he slid down the wall, whimpering pathetically. Tears stung his eyes as he clung to his knees, blubbering like a baby. He never wanted to die and it had hurt so much why did it have to hurt so much?!?

The world was getting dizzy. Harry clung almost frantically to his grip on reality, his chest constricting painfully. His heart pounded, the sound too loud and too distracting and why was everything getting _sO DIZZ **Y!?!**_

His soul felt like it was splintering again, breaking apart and shattering like glass. His fingers dug against his chest, clawing at his aching chest. Make it stop, _make it stop, ma k e i t **s T O P!**_

He was crying. When did he start crying again? The sobs wracked his body, his already short breath now barely filling his lungs. _Runningrunningrunning_ lungs hurt-

 _-nonononono_ it's just a memory, but he fucking died _(dieddieddieddieddied)_ and he was supposed to be **DEAD.** He didn't know if he was screaming, or crying, everything was falling away and he felt so naked and vulnerable like those _horriblehorrible_ spears would come down and he would die again and against until even a reset wouldn't dry the blood. _(There had been so much blood...)_

He wanted to hide. But he couldn't move he had to be quiet he had to _shut up he had to **he HAD TO**._

\---------------------------------

The echo flowers were screaming.

It was a piercing, heart wrenching cry of desperation. It rang out across the marsh, startling the monsters. Instantly, Sans' remaining sleepiness vanished as the panicked noise was registered. He knew that voice. Harry.

Harry was screaming.

And not even two minutes after a reset.

There was a series of frantic barks from up the path, and Sans quickly rushed over to the familiar tiny white dog. Toby barked sharply and took off, tiny paws a blur as he sped forward. Sans had a bit of trouble keeping up as the duo tore through the marsh together, but eventually they came to an abrupt stop.

He wasn't too prepared for what he saw.

Harry was pressed almost flat against the wall, wide, sightless eyes staring straight ahead as he mumbled to himself. Tears flowed down his cheeks, his breathing erratic and audible even from where Sans stood. It tugged at his soul, but Sans reigned in the urge to run over and hug the wizard. He knew it wouldn't do any good.

Then he watched in mute horror as Harry started gripping at his chest, fingers turning white as he frantically talked to himself. _"Got to be quiet gotta be quiet gotta be quiet don't wanna get hurt no gotta be quiet..."_

The skeleton slowly, against his screaming soul's wishes, walked towards the wizard. He couldn't spook him now.

\---------------------------------

Something fluttered on his perpherial vision, and he shrunk away from it. Soft noises he could barely hear over the beating of his heart crashing in his skull. He whimpered, fingers digging into his chest. The pain was soothing and he dug in harder. He felt like everything was getting clearer.

A hand grabbed his, prying it away from his chest. and holding it captive. Harry whimpered, struggling to escape the blurry figure as his thoughts started screaming into his skull again, the his chest feeling like it was going to inplode. His heart hammered, his mouth dry as he squirmed against the gentle but firm grip.

"-on shorty, focus on me." The voice was speaking, just the tail end of the speech able to be disinguished. It sounded like they were under water, but Harry wasn't so far gone into horrible thoughts to not recognize that voice. He must have saw something because he spoke again. "focus on my voice. you're breathing too fast, ok? hyperventilation. we don't want that, ok?"

Harry wheezed out a breath, trembling like a leaf as he clung to the voice and the reality and security it offered. This voice was _safesafesafesafe._

"breath with me. in," the voice made a noise like he was taking in a giant gulp of air. Harry shuddered and tried to breath like that, but his chest was tight and his lungs were not cooperating and it was getting blurrier and he was slipping slipping slipping down down down he couldn't make sense and he was slipping...!

Gentle hands squeezed his own hands, and the wizard whimpered pathetically and weakly tried to get away. "shh, you're alright, ok? you need to listen, bright eyes. please. nod for yes, shake your head for no, ok? are you scared of me?"

Harry trembled, his eyes darting around the blurry room as he tried to locate the voice. His lungs were choking him and he could just feel the tears dribbling down his cheeks, but he had to... do _something_. He wasn't sure how he felt about the voice. He felt... he felt _safesafesafesafesafe_. Like he could trust the voice. Something told him to shake his head, so he did; shuddering as the dizzy world spun. He quickly stopped and tried to cling to his legs impossibly tighter.

"that's... a relief, princess." The voice sounded relieved. Harry nodded, fingers clenching into his knees. The faint bursts of pain was reassuring and grounding.

Again, a bony hand gently tugged his fingers away. "don't do that, please. just... squeeze my hands, or something. don't hurt yourself. you're not alone, bright eyes. i promise... and i hate promises."

\---------------------------------

The wizard nodded, still trembling like a leaf. His eyes darted blindly about, his chest still rapidly rising and falling. Tears were still gushing down his cheeks, twin glistening rivers.

Sans smiled shakily, gently squeezing Harry's hand. The wizard tried to smile, but it came out more of a grimace as he curled into a ball, only allowing his hand to clasp Sans' like a lifelife.

It probably was.

After the longest while, Harry's fingers twitched and squeezed back with a clammy hand.

He could have cried with relief. His soul calmed, still beating hummingbird fast, but the urgent need to sweep the short wizard up and just hug him was dissapating. Toby whimpered from by his side, and the wizard stiffened and his grip became vicelike as he shot up and pressed against the wall again.

Sans was tugged along, due to their connected hands. The skeleton quickly righted himself and tried to focus on reassuring Harry it's okay as the wizard started his panicked crying and mumbling again.

\---------------------------------

"hey, hey, shh, you're okay."

 _Nononono_ he's not he's not okay _he's not okay_

"it'll be fine, please, bright eyes, i wont let anything hurt you, it's just toby."

But that's not right he died he died he _fucking **DIED** where were you?!?!_

"please... stop crying..."

He was crying? When did he start crying?

A shaky hand wiped at his face, and he squirmed away. Until the heady smell of ketchup and dirty socks hit him. He didn't quite understand how he missed it. Maybe it was from the lack of air.

He knew who this was.

With a muffled sob, Harry launched himself at Sans and buried his face in his jacket.

\---------------------------------

His soul throbbed when Harry started to cling to him, tears wetting his hoodie.

He felt his nonexistant throat clog at the display of pure trust being put in him; even when the wizard was half-delirious with panic he trusted him.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Honored, unworthy, surprised, lowly... But right now, all that mattered was the crying wizard on his lap.

Boy, this reset was a _mess._

\--------------------------------- (YOU CAN READ HERE! THIS IS LESS TRIGGERING AND YOU GOT CUTE FLUFF!)

Harry whimpered, his soul pulsating miserably as he shoved his head against Sans' clavicle.

Gentle arms wrapped around him, a jawbone pressing against the top of his head, a faint rocking motion, soothing 'shhh's and off-key humming. It was calming. He didn't feel quite as if that all-encompassing fear was going to hurt him here. It was disquieting to go from fearful to an uneasy contentment. It wasn't quiet horrible, though. He felt safe. Secure. Like he could fall asleep right there and wake up without a scratch and even smile.

...it didn't make the horrible memories fade, however.

He buried his nose into the fur of Sans' hoodie, closing his eyes and letting his shoulders shake with the force of his tears. He was a mess. He was such a crybaby.

"no, no you're not, bright eyes. you're not a crybaby."

Had he said that out loud? He felt like protesting. Here he was, sobbing his little heart out and panicking because he died in a lousy video game. _Pathetic._

Sans sighed, bones rattling a bit with the force of it. There was a shift until Harry was practically sprawled diagonally across Sans, but it wasn't the least bit uncomfortable. It was like lying on a slightly chubby body pillow his size that cuddled back. The skeleton kept humming, his voice lulling him into a relaxed, gooey state. The thoughts and panic lingered, but not quite as viciously as before.

Now that he wasn't quite gasping for breath, he could hear Sans actually was singing. It was a quiet, soothing melody; something you'd sing to a loved one to sooth away the nightmares.

"if you'll be my star, i'll be your sky... you can hide underneath me and come out at night. when i turn jet black and you show off your light, i live to let you shine... i live to let you shine..." Harry smiled, feeling oddly weepy at the lyrics. He snuggled up impossibly closer, keeping an ear out for the rest of the song. He even moved his face a bit so he could peer up at Sans while he sang.

The skeleton didn't seem to know he was watching as he sang. He looked relaxed, frazzled, but relaxed as he hummed the next few notes before he continued singing. "but you can skyrocket away from me and never come back if you find another galaxy, far, from here with more room to fly... just leave me your stardust to remember you by... star-dust to remember you by...*"

He trailed off, humming slowly quieting until it was silent between the two. He quickly struck up another song*, however. It was just as soothing as the other, and felt just as intimate. He didn't quite sing, just hummed.

The vibrations from the hums rumbled up against his chest, and Harry felt like he could feel the melody in his soul. It wasn't a bad feeling. It was peaceful. Reassuring. Safe. He wasn't too sure how he felt about the quick attachment, but... it felt right. It felt like yeah, this is exactly where he was meant to be. Minus the whole panicking and death.

The song slowly wound down, and Sans peeked open his odd bone eyelids to peer down at Harry. He cracked a genuine, if tired, smile when he noticed Harry watching. "my dad used to play that song all the time to get me and paps to go to bed, the second one. though, my pops, he was a bit more of a fan of the first one. if dad's song didn't work, or dad was too busy in the workshop, pops would sing that or read us a story. he always told the best stories."

Harry blinked slowly, taking in that. He smiled, propping his chin upwards to stare at Sans in fascination. Here they were, talking calmly after Harry had a fucking panic attack, about how Sans' parents would tell him stories and sing to him when he was a kid. He resisted the urge to giggle uncontrollably and merely smiled before speaking, a raspy sound that grated on his ears.

"What kind of stories?"

"all sorts," Sans smiled nolstalgically. "stories of princesses and princes, little guys who became heros, and some more childish books for papyrus. i always liked the stories where the hero used his brain and not his strength to save everybody."

The wizard smiled at the image. "I've always liked the stories where even if the main character loses, he has his friends."

"i never really got along with most kids; i preferred to help dad out in the workshop or play with papyrus." Sans said, hands absently rubbing circles against his back. Harry leaned into the touch, sighing as his tense muscles relaxed under the steady bone. His muddled thoughts took a moment form into coherent words.

"I didn't really dislike or like anybody particularly, other than my two best friends. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley; Hermione's bloody brilliant, she got us out of a few sticky situations. Ron's absolutely wicked when he plays chess and while he's pretty hot-headed, he's somebody I can trust. I only _really_ fought with one kid, Malfoy."

Sans raised a weird bone eyebrow. "his name is malfoy?"

"No! It's his last name, but that's what we call him because we aren't friends." Harry explained, smiling in amusement. "That would have been an unfortunate name."

"imagine going through life with a weird name like that," Sans chuckled. Harry huffed, gently reaching up and booping just above where his nasal cavity was. "You're no better, captain cuddles."

The skeleton huffed, rolling his pupils in a mock eyeroll.

It was quiet for another moment until Sans spoke again.

"tell me more?"

And it was like a floodgates opened. Harry eagerly started explaining, smiling happily at the bittersweet memories. "Okay, so, we all go to this school; Hogwarts. Hogwarts is... amazing. It's like home away from home for me. You get sorted into one of four houses..."

Harry explained the houses fairly easily, with Sans intently listening. He explained what the castle looked like, the classes, everything about Hogwarts.

"...and in the lake, there's actually merpeople and a giant squid. It's friendly though, the squid. I don't think the merpeople would hurt anybody, either." Harry rambled, running his hands over Sans' free hand absently. The bone was smooth and warm beneath his fingers, Harry noted. Not at all cold.

"you must really wanna get back to that, huh?" Sans murmured. Harry looked back up at the skeleton, wincing at the weary look on his face. His grin was slightly downturned, eyes dimmer. The wizard sighed, gently reaching up and moving Sans' jaw down so he was looking at him.

"Yeah, yeah I do. But... I don't think I want to leave anybody here. Nobody deserves to live underground and not know what stars look like. I'll get everybody out of here, I promise." Harry said quietly, seriously. The skeleton looked shaken at the determined look on Harry's face, and he suddenly sighed through his teeth, creating a slight whistling noise. He looked relieved, however. "i... i believe you, bright eyes."

"...You know, I'm curious... what's with the lovey dovey nicknames, Sans? I'm starting to think you like me." Harry said lightly, grinning at the bright blue flush that sprung up over the skeleton's face.

Sans sucked in a breath, grinning (more of a leer, really) with half-lidded eyes. He looked like a cat that caught the canary. He chuckled, the rumbles resounding in Harry's soul as his throat dried up under that intense, surveying look. "what if i do, hmm?"

The wizard gulped for a moment, fumbling for words for a moment as his face turned a bright cherry red. "I'd... I'd not mind at all, I think."

"good," Sans breathed, his face so close Harry could feel his breath ghosting over his lips. Harry shivered, but it was a good shiver. There was an agonizing pause before the gap was closed, by who, neither of them was truly sure.

It was decidedly wonderful almost instantly, Harry decided. When a certain bright blue glowy tongue joined in? He didn't think it could have gotten better, but it most certainly did. The oddly dominant move where Harry was pressed up against the floor? Well. Better to say he was happy with this arrangement. Very happy.

\---------------------------------

A couple thousand timelines and universes away, Hermione Jean Granger's climbing harness broke and she tumbled down into the very same hole that had claimed so many stories.

\--------------------------------

Now, Hermione was a practical person.

When Harry went missing, she packed up and headed out with a search party to see what happened to him. When they found his campsite abandonded, ransacked by the wildlife, she tried to think positively. When they found the hole and the suspicious looking chip in the rim of it's earthy maw? It was rather hard to think positively at all.

So she was climbing down into it, after dismantling the annoying wards over the hole, to see if Harry was alive, or... if there was a body to find.

And when the harness snapped? She tried to Apparate away before she hit the ground.

It's just her luck that fate had other ideas. Such as plopping her down in front of the missing wizard and his skeletal companion (Toby having vanished to probably mess with Papyrus until Harry was actually doing something). If Chara and Frisk had a high five over the horrible comedic timing in the Void? Well, it's not like anybody but them really knew.

Well. There _was_ Gaster, floating around somewhere, but he didn't really count since he was more busy obsessively keeping the universe from rejecting the two magicals outright. He really was dedicated, they had to admit. He'd taken the repeated murders of his sons pretty damn hard. And those few times his husband was killed he was pretty fucking scary as well, Chara remembered with a shiver. If any of his family died Gaster tended to get a bit... creepy was the most loose term, they supposed. The ending result is him being a workaholic to avoid ever seeing his tiny family _ever_ be harmed again, and more than eager to stop the resets. He'd probably be _horribly_ protective when this was all over too, Chara sighed.

\---------------------------------

"Harry James Potter, just _WHAT_ are you doing!?!?!?"

Well, _shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * - The first song was "Boats and Birds" by Gregory and the Hawk and the second one is "Determination" from the Undertale OST. I heavily recommend listening to the music box version of Determination out there, by the way. That's the one "Pops" would play. Also... if you guess correctly who Pops is, I'll be super impressed.
> 
> If I make an 8tracks playlist for this fic, would you mind recommending some songs? I've got a few I would add, but I genuinely want to know what songs you think fit this fic. And I don't mean as a whole; just in parts, like what song fits what scene to you?
> 
> Also: I had a really hard time with ending the panic attack. Seriously. This was hard. I'm proud of the end result though, really. And... CLIFFHANGER! Yeah, my first cliffhanger! We're gonna have fun next chapter, really. Hermione is badass, enough said.
> 
> Again, if you want to talk, just send me a message over at scrumptious-nerdy-cupcake.tumblr.com ! I hope to hear from you guys, it always makes my day brighter. Any suggestions for tags or scenes or just ideas/theories for the fic, send 'em in! I love, love, /love/ reading those. <3
> 
> Cheers! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em


	12. A Magic Hermione Appears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione. Anger. And the feels decided to sneak back in.
> 
> (Also this chapter is short and I'm ashamed.)

Now, Harry wasn't too sure how this happened.

Well. He had an idea. I mean, tear-stained wizard being throughly snogged by skeleton... You can imagine how pissed Hermione got.

"princess could you call off the attack lady already!?!?" Sans yelped as he dodged another hex, the skeleton quickly ducking down to avoid the jet of light. Was that- oh boy. She's pissed, if she was seriously going to use a castration curse. Hermione growled, eye twitching as she passed Harry. She looked furious. She was practically oozing anger, her hair was even puffed up and frizzed like it was bristling.

It was ridiculous.

Harry cackled, sitting back and taking in the scene.

Sans cursed, teleporting behind Hermione and attempting to take cover behind a rock. Unfortunately, Hermione shattered the rock with a well placed Bombarda and the rock exploded with a loud noise. The skeleton was forced to dodge the flurry of rock shards and take off running again, this time attempting to forcibly disarm Hermione.

It wasn't pretty.

The wizard decided he should probably step in before Hermione actually manages to murder Sans.

"Hermione, could you pretty please stop attacking the poor skeleton?"

The witch let out an angry noise, shaking her head furiously and finally managing to freeze Sans in place. The skeleton made a muffled noise, possibly a curse. Harry groaned as Hermione marched over to the frozen monster, grabbing him by the front of his hoodie and looming over him. Her expression promised pain if he answered her wrong.

With a sharp jerk of her wand, Sans was unfrozen. He tried to struggle and escape the iron grip Hermione had on his jacket, but the witch merely leaned down and narrowed her eyes at him.

Harry was on the edge of his seat as he watched in both horror and fascination. He couldn't look away.

"Did. You. Hurt. The. Immature. Idiot." Hermione snarled, almost nose to- well, nasal cavity, really, with Sans. Sans shook his head, bead dripping down his skull. Harry didn't blame him. Hermione was fucking scary.

"no, no! i wouldn't hurt him! look, this is a misunderstanding, let me go and i can explain, alright?"

The witch turned her head to look at Harry, murderous expression lightening slightly at the sight of him. "Did he hurt you?"

"No." Harry stated firmly. It was true. Sans hadn't hurt him. He probably could, but he didn't. He'd been the perfect- okay, not perfect, gentleman. Ignoring all the puns and dirty jokes. And a lot of things but let's not get picky, right?

Hermione turned her head back to glare at Sans and let him go, straightening up but keeping her wand trained on the skeleton. Harry was slightly glad that she had listened to reason and was going to let him explain.

"Uh, you may want to sit down. This is a long, long, story."

\---------------------------------

It took a bit of cajoling and silent arguments, but finally Sans was safely protected on Harry's right with Hermione angled towards his left side. Hermione wasn't too happy with this situation.

"Okay, so, you probably found my camp, right?" Harry started, drumming his fingers on his knee nervously. A bony hand snaked over and stopped him, and Harry quickly shared a brief smile with Sans before turning his attention to Hermione.

She was looking increasingly pissed at the exchange, her brown eyes promising he wasn't going to like her reaction. "Yes."

"Good; I know I didn't really leave anything of value, but, well, never hurts to be careful." Harry rambled, hands twitching on his lap. He'd just about do anything to get out of this situation.

"get on with it, princess. she looks like she's gonna blow." Well, Sans wasn't wrong. Hermione's eye was twitching.

"Okay, fine, anyways, so I went for a walk to explore the mountains near my camp... and fell down this lovely hole in the ground. Really. On the list of most heart-stopping near death experiences."

Hermione made an angry noise, grinding her teeth. Harry winced at the grating noise. Oh boy. He rushed to reassure her that it was fine. "Luckily, though, there was this nice soft bed of flowers to catch me. Not too sure what they're called, but they kind of reminded me of buttercups. Anyways, met a homicidal flower named Flowey, nearly died again, met this nice goat lady called Toriel, fought Toriel over exiting the Ruins. Then I met Sans and his brother Papyrus, petted a couple dogs, went through a shit tonne of puzzles, passed out in Sans' arms because he took pity on me after all those bloody puzzles-"

"sounds about right." The smug arse grinned, leaning back against the cave wall. Harry huffed, whacking his humerus. He had to bite back a smile before he continued.

"-woke up snuggling with the arse, fought papyrus, got a dog named Toby (he's cute and actually kind of helpful), spent another night with the skelebros-"

"that sounds better than what most people call us, actually."

"Sans be quiet I'm trying to explain."

"fine, fine."

"As I was saying... woke up, stopped a catastrophe in the making, hung out with Papyrus, continued onwards, got distracted by Sans and went to Grillby's, died-"

"YOU WHAT."

Oh shit.

Hermione was seething, her eye twitching and hair bristling- rather like a cat when angry. Within seconds, Hermione was up and pacing, her wand twirling in her fingers and sparking with angry blood red magic every now and then. "Explain. Now. Then I'm gonna go kill someone."

"No killing," Harry huffed, leaning into Sans as he started to shake again. His chest ached. He could feel the phantom pains from- from... then.

A gentle arm wrapped around his waist, a slightly downturned grin pressed to his forehead gently. Harry glanced up at Sans, smiling feebly. The skeleton's grin twitched down again and he pressed another skeleton kiss to his forehead, lingering a moment before pulling back.

Harry took a deep breath, drawing his determination up to speak. He could do this. He was safe.

"...I walked through this room, more of a hallway than anything... it felt off. I was right. That Undyne lady..." Harry laughed dryly, attempting to curl closer to Sans. The skeleton's pupils had vanished, his grin downturned as he rubbed tiny little circles on his back. "...I tripped and she put a spear in my back. Last thing I remember is 'I'm sorry', Toby howling and the worst pain imaginable before I'm back here."

There was a silent moment where Sans had to reassure him it was fine before Hermione sat down next to him and hugged him tight to her. He could smell the salt of her tears.

"I'm... I was going to rant to you about how fucking worried I was, but... I think you know."

Harry gave a wavering smile, hugging back and burying his face in her hair. "Y-Yeah."

It was quiet as the two rocked back and forth in a hug until a yap sounded nearby and a familiar white dog came tearing out of the marsh, muzzle coated in spaghetti sauce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally just finished this chapter urgh I'm really disappointed in myself.
> 
> I'm gonna make a massive chapter next time to make up for this disappointingly short chapter by the way. I swear by it. I'll stay up until 3 AM to get a massive chapter written so you get your doses of cheesy fluff and angst. Get on my ass about the massive chapter over at scrumptious-nerdy-cupcake.tumblr.com
> 
> Cheers, guys! Have a lovely day/night!  
> -Em


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